Leviathan eased the door shut behind him and removed his boots slowly, not to stir a fly. On his and Kiruna's favourite divan, he set the peach basket and spared his tail a warning look. They had been training for this. All she needed to do was wait for his command and then she could eat. She dove for the basket, but Leviathan lifted it out of her reach in time. A finger on his lips ordered her silence, cutting off a protesting hiss. When she complied, Leviathan set the basket down on the sofa and waited. Kiruna waited this time, too. Satisfied, he threw up two peaches and watched his tail dart for them like a slingshot. She then flopped on the floor to munch or wrestle them; Leviathan didn’t care, so long as she kept it quiet. 

He crept to the small room hidden in the back of his chambers, where his iron wheel once resided. Leviathan had disposed of his pleasure wheel and other toys, replacing them with a sizable and sumptuous bed. The dividing thick curtains were new, too. The king recently made it his business to instil the foreign notion of privacy among demons (not at all because she didn’t like demons uninvited and prying eyes and ears). 

Parting the thick curtain gently, he saw her there. Miina was so still it didn’t look like she had shifted positions since he left for the Conclave. To his disappointment, she was still wearing clothes. She looked uncomfortable with her under vest and trousers, but she hardly ever parted with her uniform. At least she’d taken off her jacket and long-neck shirt, and there were some bare arms. Patience was another thing he’d been contending with of late. And he needed much of it. This room reeked of it. Patience reaps rewards. Someone must’ve said that, he thought.

The sequence of events that led to moments like these had become a blur.  Finding her sleeping in his room, on his bed, so peacefully, trumped it all. Miina had been suffering from horrific nightmares and apparently, and much to her resistance, Leviathan’s room was where she slept unmolested by such hauntings. He kept it to himself that as a long-lived soul in Hell, she was fortunate to only experience nightmares. He was certain that undergoing a demonic transformation was normally at the top of the list for many souls.

Sour thoughts threatened the uplifting sight of her, when his mind drifted to the couples at the market. He was getting sick of Mara and Lucious all over each other every chance they got. Haru and Mammon were already two steps ahead when they adopted their wolf-monkey, becoming a family. Beel didn’t count… But damn it, even he was getting some with that bloody angel. Meanwhile, Leviathan was building a castle of patience made out of crumbs that Miina fed him. Get enough crumbs and you get yourself the whole cake, Mara had told him.

Kiruna spat a peach pit on the marble floor, and Leviathan rolled his eyes at his carelessness. Miina stirred and opened her grey eyes. She sat up, tensing in his presence. As though she hadn’t come here on purpose. As though this was the first time all over again. Wasn't all that tension exhausting?

Still, considering their strange connection, this wasn't just about sleeping now, was it?

Smirking, he entered. “We didn’t mean to wake you,” he gave Kiruna a blaming stare. “Are you feeling better? Your headache, is it gone?”

She nodded, feigning an eye rub. “When did you get back?”

“Just now.”

Miina leaned her back on the headboard. Small talk wasn’t for them. She pressed her feet on the bed and scooted over to the edge, away from him. Leviathan made no sudden movements, but lazied his way to meet her on that side. “You, uh… been having anymore nightmares?”

Miina was already fitting her boots, making sure her eyes remained down. “No. Nothing this time, either. I’m sorry, I overslept. I just needed to catch up, otherwise I won’t be able to keep up with…” She paused, as she did whenever he got too close, but she still refused to look up. “With training. I just need a few hours.”

“Of course. Hey, even if you are a soul, sleep is important.”

She stood when she finished, her forehead almost brushing his chest, so close he was. The smell of her hair tingled his senses, calling a heated reaction in his body, as if she had cast a spell. Her lowered gaze, her tilted chin; she felt it too. She fought it, as always, yet she stayed.

“You know, as important as other… necessities,” he said, letting the back of two fingers brush the outer side of her arm. The warmth and smoothness of her skin gave way to slight bumps, reacting to his touch. He watched her close her eyes and purse her lips. Two fingers turned into four, which he then switched to his full palm. She frowned and tilted her head away. "I… need to get my jacket," she murmured, keeping her eyes shut.

“Do you?”

She shivered slightly, her frown deepened and for an instant, Leviathan feared he might have ruined the moment. Miina’s lips parted but she said nothing.  He moved closer still, brushing his leg between hers, and wrapping his fingers around her hand. From his towering angle, he spotted the gap in her cleavage that her under-vest revealed. The border of her white lace bra he wished he could nudge aside. “Do you really need to rush out for some training—”

Huffing, Miina reeled him in, slinging arms around his neck and wrapping legs around his thighs. Leviathan supported her from beneath with hands squeezing her buttocks. He let her have her way with his lips, his tongue and again his lips. A tighter squeeze from him saw her wiggle and shuffle her hands around his back, as if uncertain of where to hold him. Miina still refused to open her eyes, even as her back curved and stirred under his reach.  

Then came his favourite part. It was almost always the same, and Leviathan never tired of it. Her fingers would dig deep into the roots of his hair, pulling hard to make him wince and hiss; her breaths would grow longer, bigger, and her body would give in to him; just then, she’d open her eyes-only slightly; enough to show him the overwhelming absence of resistance. Her lower half would press against him, claiming him and they would huff into their breaths, famished for each other’s lips.

More. Longer. slower. He wanted to savour this.

Leviathan paused, caressing her cheek and lips with the tip of his fingers while they breathed into each other. She stirred, confused, surprised, rushing, seeking his lips, pulling in, and avoiding his eyes.

 Not this time. Leviathan slowed further still, kissing her upper lip gently and nudging his nose and mouth around her face. He licked and sucked her neck and moved again to find her lower lip, nuzzling it as if it were the sweetest nectar in the afterlife. No, all of her was sweet, precious, irreplaceable. And she was here, in his arms, and he was kissing her. In this moment, she wanted him; she was his. It was all that mattered.

By her tensing body, he felt her uncertainty, but she still followed his lead. Miina loved kissing. And Leviathan gave her plenty of it. He pulled for more. Her lips seemed never ending. The play between their tongues always felt like a first, even though they’d been doing this for months. He could kiss her always. He could kiss her forever. But… if she found out about the raging battle happening between his legs, things could take a hasty downturn. Or… maybe not? In this scenario, was there a demon capable of holding himself together?

He moved her to the bed and despite the surprise in her eyes, she moaned when he pressed down. It didn’t stop the kissing. It didn’t pull her away. He decided it was time. He moved her to the bed and despite the surprise in her eyes, she moaned when he pressed down. It didn’t stop the kissing. It didn’t pull her away. He decided it was time. A mind command confined Kiruna on the floor and underneath the bed. There were to be no interruptions this time.

Leviathan’s hand found its way underneath her vest, underneath the lace bra, and finally, his fingers caressed the curves of her nipple which, with just the right amount of pressure made her quiver. She moaned again, and he lost something inside himself. In the hazed madness, he pressed between her legs and knew that she felt him this time. This was the point of no return.

Leviathan kept up the long and languid kisses, then dragged himself down to her neck and sure enough, down her chest, allowing his mouth to work one perked nipple, then the other. She writhed in response, curving her back, repressing and failing to hide her pleasure. The bulge in his trousers pulsed and would scream if it could. In a way, it did. In another fluid motion, Leviathan fondled her belly, tracing his hand and tongue down its length. All of her trembled underneath him, her hands ruffling and clasping his hair. His teeth caught the buckle of her knife belt.

“W-wait…”

He heard it, as soft a sound as it was. But did he, really?

“Wait, wait, stop.” She said, more decisively.

Leviathan stopped, though his teeth remained clenched on her belt. She lay still with her forearms crossed over her face.

Leviathan climbed up, bringing his face close to hers. She wasn’t going to say it, so he ventured a read. Deafening thoughts roared through her, almost confining him within her mind. Why?! Are you insane?! Stupid, stupid woman! Why him?! Why? Idiot! How can you trust him? What are you doing?! What has he done to me?!

Miina turned her face away, as though she could outrun her mind.

He let his head flop on her shoulder and took a deep breath. Maybe her scent would keep him going until next time. None of it made sense; not much would in his state. This was the farthest they have ever gone, below the neck, but to think of it as progress felt... painful. The last time he hadn’t wanted to stop cost him a knee to his stomach. Worse. He had to put up with several days without so much as a glance from her, even though she was his captain and had to follow him everywhere. Only Miina could guard him, hate him, and then come back to kiss him. Where was this patience Mara kept talking about? 

Miina wriggled herself from beneath him and quickly stood up, tucking her undershirt in her trousers. Then she reached for her uniform jacket, which had been resting over a chair.   

“Right, ok. That’s today’s quota, is it? Here’s a fun fact: Blue balls kill demons. It’s real. Something about feeling it too much.”

Not that he expected a response, but her silence called to him. This, too, was new today. He hadn’t seen her this shaken since the first time they met. Her panic and turmoil festered the room. If this wasn’t fear and hatred, he would love to know what else Mara would call it.

“The games tomorrow,” Miina moved away as if buttoning her jacket called for some special distance that would help even out her shaky tone. “They’re saying souls are going to be the winning prize.”

Leviathan scratched his neck; this didn’t concern them. “You're gonna say that's what's on your mind right now?"

She ignored him.

He sighed. "Souls will be participants, just like demons. Whoever makes it to the end wins.”

“And what do they win?”

He cocked his head. “Whatever the winner wants… within reason. A spot in our top squad for one. Some titles, maybe.”

“Including some gourmet souls to eat?”

He frowned, realising where this was going. “If it comes to that, yeah.”

She shook her head in quiet disapproval. No, disappointment, more like.

“You’re aware of the situation with the attacks, right? Everybody’s on edge, and I can’t have my people scared and in panic. This helps reduce tension. All participants will have an equal opportunity to defend themselves. The souls joining will be nothing like you or Mara.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

Was she being serious? “You’re being serious?!”

She crossed her arms. “So selective slaughter; is that what Court stands for now?”

“Miina, you’re talking like you just got here,” he tried keeping his tone even, but failed. “Have you looked around? Just because Lucious and I are going around making it pretty and cosy for souls, doesn’t change everything overnight. This is still Hell. This is where the rotten apples end up.”

“How do you know the souls you’ve picked aren’t a mistake? How do you know they’re not repentant?”

Leviathan shook his head, disbelieving his ears. “Because they’re still here; most of them evolving fast into demons. Or do you think they're all suddenly like you?”

He could see her eyes going back to her life on Earth when she’d been alive.

“You think I don’t know what goes on in my world? You think I’m just a king for show?”

“Aren’t you?! It’s what everyone else thinks.”

She closed her eyes at her lie. “That’s not—I didn’t mean that.” An annoyed, uncertain look crossed her eyes before she looked away. Ridicule and guilt were winning. He liked the way her eyes wavered, so he let her stew on it for a while longer.

Leviathan wasn’t certain what she wanted with this pointless argument. There were other ways to pull away from his arms. She had done it countless times before. There was something else going on. More than anyone, Miina had been close to him since he had taken over. While she never told him, he knew she admired his leadership and the changes he and Lucious had been working hard to implement among demons to protect souls like her and Mara. This was something else.

“Look, it won’t be crazed-arsed savagery; I won’t let it. But you need to remember where you are. Satan isn’t around anymore, but Hell isn’t about roses and cookies. It might never be. Redemption, repentance and whatever else just don’t have room here. Once they’re here, it’s already too late. Right now, I need demons to believe I can handle our world, without question or weakness. These games will help with that.”

The hurt in her eyes showed the protest against their reality. She flipped the curtain and walked away.

“At least take the—”

The door slam brought on that gut-wrenching feeling that was becoming all too familiar.

“…Cherries.”