7. Gabriel

Gabe was beyond mortified. Mr. Frog was a demon? He watched movies with Mr. Frog and pet his little back with a finger and talked to him. Mr. Frog knew most of his secrets and inner thoughts, because wasn't that what you did when you had a pet? Poured your heart out to them? So, Mr. Frog wasn't the best with cuddles, but ever since Gabe was a kid he'd always felt like Mr. Frog was listening to him, especially since he seemed to ribbit and croak in all the right places.

Well, apparently Mr. Frog had been listening. Gabe tried not to be horrified thinking about what he'd told his pet demon. And oh god, what Mr. Frog had seen over the years. He thought that he might need to move the aquarium into the living room. He didn't mind being naked so much—Gabe wasn't ashamed of his body or particularly shy—but he'd masturbated in his bedroom. In front of Mr. Frog.

He turned red just thinking about it, and of course that was when his pain in the ass sister sauntered into the kitchen. He'd been so distracted he hadn't even heard the door open.

"You know," he grouched, "that spare key I gave you is for emergencies only."

"Well, you having a lust demon in your apartment is certainly an emergency. He could be taking advantage of you and I might've burst in just in time to save you," she sassed as she came over to the stove to hug him hello. His sister was drama he did not need right now, and he just sighed.

Az walked into the room at that moment, and when Seraphina saw him she literally squealed, smacking Gabe's arm while looking the demon up and down. He tried not to flinch (she could hit pretty damn hard) or be pissed that she was essentially eye-fucking his demon.

"Ser, maybe stop drooling, hmm?" he snapped, grabbing oven mitts and draining the pasta.

"Oh man, you are hot," she said to Az. She still didn't turn away from him when she replied to Gabe. "And big brother, I hope you hit that, because damn, he is smoking." She then started to giggle. "Smoking. Get it? Because he's a demon?"

Az just kind of stared at her, and Gabe proceeded to give her a dirty look, which was totally wasted because she was still staring at Az.

"Get your own lust demon, you harlot, and stop eye-fucking mine," Gabe grouched, shaking the colander to drain any excess water, perhaps a bit aggressively since some pasta flew out onto the counter.

Ser finally turned to look at him, raising one eyebrow—a skill he had never mastered and was rather jealous of, to be honest. He brought out the dirty look again so she could appreciate his ire.

"Ohhhh, is big brother jealous that I might steal his lust demon? And are you reading The Crucible or Shakespeare with your students right now?" she asked, chuckling.

So Gabe sometimes fell into using the language of the literature he was teaching. His students found it amusing. He just shrugged at his sister though, transferring the pasta back into the pot along with some olive oil. He wouldn't give her the satisfaction of knowing she was right. He was too annoyed with her.

"Why are you here?" he asked. "You aren't staying for dinner. You've seen the hot lust demon. Isn't it time for you to head out?" Gabe could hope, anyway.

Ser sighed at him. "You know, I am the best little sister." Gabe snorted at that, but she kept going. "I was coming to see, for real, if you wanted me to babysit your demon tomorrow while you work."

Gabe stared at her, thinking. He knew she was serious, and she wasn't stripping her clothes in his kitchen, so she probably could be trusted to babysit him, but it just didn't sit right with Gabe. Maybe it was because he had technically summoned the demon (even if it was under duress and totally by accident), but he felt a sort of… responsibility for Az. It was like there was a tether tying the two of them together. He had no clue what Grams had done, but he didn't need to leave Az behind and end up with one or both of them suffering some weird adverse effects.

He wouldn't put anything past his meddling grandmother.

"I just don't think that's smart. I don't know what Grams did with this spell. I don't even know if I can leave him behind." He huffed in annoyance as he turned to the sauce, taking a taste before continuing. "Although I can't imagine what the hell I'm gonna do with him tomorrow. I really can't miss school."

Gabe heard a throat clearing behind him, and both he and Ser turned to Az. "I don't think you'll need to worry about me at school tomorrow. I am a demon, after all. It won't be so hard to arrange a few things so that I'm an expected presence," he said, staring hard at Seraphina and looking slightly puzzled. He then asked her, "Do you, ah, want anything in particular?"

Gabe sighed dramatically, which earned a grumpy look from Az.

"Do NOT go turning the sex magic on for my sister, for the love of god. Or for the love of Lucifer. Whatever. Because ewww. I know you can't totally turn it off, but I am so kicking you out if she starts trying to hump you in the kitchen," Gabe groused, grabbing two bowls and some silverware and setting them, perhaps a little roughly, onto the counter. He was so done with this entire day.

Seraphina just laughed. "Oh I always want a whole lot of things. But don't worry—I have self-control. And I love my big brother. He is my favorite," she said to Az, turning to kiss Gabe's cheek. He rolled his eyes, but he appreciated her sentiment.

"And," she added, "because you are my favorite, I'm going to do you the biggest favor ever."

"You are NOT watching him, Ser," Gabe repeated.

"Nope. I'm gonna do you an even bigger favor than that," she said, pausing for dramatic effect. "I'm going to head off Michael."

Gabe groaned.

"Yup, exactly. You know he's going to be down here investigating the demon and lecturing you and being a total and complete killjoy. You won't get rid of him for hours. So I'll go pick a fight and keep him busy until it's too late to bother you. You can thank me later. Preferably with coffee with all the chocolate and caramel and peppermint in it." With that she gave a little wave to him, winked at Az, and sauntered out the door.

She was a pain in the neck, but he did owe her. He loved Michael to death, but he was too tired and too overwhelmed to deal with him right now. There would be notebooks and research and probably spreadsheets, and he just couldn't.

When he heard the front door shut, he grabbed serving spoons, stuck them in the pots, and handed Az his bowl.

When Az oomphed, he realized perhaps he had been a little rough in handing the bowl over. He was annoyed though. "Help yourself," he grumbled. "I'm not getting out serving bowls and the whole nine yards for company I didn't expect."

"And yet you cooked for me," Az responded, and that soft smile was back on his face. Gabe gestured Az to the stove, trying to ignore it.

"Well, yeah, you're a guest. Sort of. Anyway, Grams taught us manners. You always feed what you summon. It's only polite."

Az laughed at that, adding, "And apparently give what you summon a warm aquarium and take care of it for twenty years."

Gabe blushed, muttering, "I thought he was just an exotic frog." He still couldn't believe he'd had a pet demon for more than half his life. He sighed, scooping himself some pasta and sauce and then motioning Az over to scoop some into his bowl as well. Az raised an eyebrow, but Gabe just ignored him to sit at the table. Once Az was seated across from him he took a bite and motioned for Az to do the same.

Az groaned, closing his eyes as he chewed his first bite. "Oh, that's just… that's amazing. No wonder Beel doesn't want to go home."

Gabe blushed again. He felt ridiculous. It was like he was in permanent blush mode around this demon. "Thanks," he muttered. He added, "I mostly feed Beel frog food, though he has been known to munch on snacks with me during movie night. I fed him people food when I was a kid, and by the time I realized that wasn't good for him, I figured it probably didn't matter since he was a Grams creation." He ended on a shrug.

Az just laughed again, and Gabe realized it was kinda nice to hear Az's laughter and to have someone to chat with during dinner.

Huh. Maybe he had been a bit lonely. Az was digging into his pasta and smiling occasionally at him, and the demon really did have a nice smile. He had seemed so cocky at first, but now that he wasn't busy trying to sex Gabe up, he seemed really nice for a demon. And Gabe had known quite a few demons over the years.

"So," Az began, "let's talk about sex."

Gabe groaned again. He couldn't help it. It was just so embarrassing that he didn't even know what he was interested in. "Do we have to?" he whined.

Az smirked, pointing to himself. "Lust demon. Yes, we have to. Why don't you start with the times you slept with people and enjoyed it."

Gabe shoved a bite of food into his mouth to give himself time to think. He guessed he had to just rip the bandaid off and do it. They were stuck with each other until they figured this out.

"So, I generally just don't think about sex. I get awkward during kissing. Porn doesn't usually turn me on. Reading stories does sometimes, but not always. I masturbate." Gabe paused there, blushing again, but Az just smiled encouragingly at him.

"Um, so I don't particularly fantasize about myself while I masturbate. I usually fantasize about whatever I'm reading about. It can be guys with guys or guys with girls. So, um, yeah," he finished lamely.

"What about when you had sex? You said you had two enjoyable experiences?" Az prodded.

"Two people. The first was my college roommate, Greg. We were best friends, and one day he kissed me. We had an affair for a few weeks. Tons of sex. It was all secret, and it got to be too much for him. When it was over we went back to being friends. He thought I was weird because I wasn't jealous when he started dating a girl a few months after our affair ended. But we're still friends and talk every few weeks and get together to hang out once in a while.

"We don't ever talk about how we slept together, but that's more because I follow his lead. It's clear he wants to pretend like it never happened. I think he assumes I'm ‘straight' like he is, and that it was just a college thing." Gabe shrugged. He didn't think Greg was really happy with his life, but Greg had made it clear early on that any conversation on that was off-limits, so Gabe respected that.

"Do you see him and get horny?" Az asked.

Gabe sat back, his pasta bowl and Az's both empty by now, and thought about it for a minute. "No?" he responded unsurely.

Az laughed. "That isn't a very sure answer. Do you get hard when you hang out with him or talk to him? Does seeing him make you think about sex?"

"No," Gabe said more decisively. "We hang out and we're just friends. I talk to him and we're friends. I don't think about him like that now. But sometimes… well, sometimes I think about the two college kids that had some pretty crazy sex, and that makes me horny. Usually that only happens when I'm reading a story or already masturbating. And I think about stuff we did. But it's not like his current self makes me horny." Gabe huffed out a breath. "I don't know if that makes sense." He ended with a shrug, picking up his bowl and Az's and bringing them over to the sink to wash them. It was easier to talk about this with his back to Az anyway.

"And then there was Domenique," Gabe continued. "My first job was in a middle school in a different district, and she taught the same grade but a different subject. That whole crew was fun, and everyone ate lunch together, and we had team meetings every day, and we usually all went out for Friday happy hours. She and I ended up talking a lot and confiding in each other about our crazy families, although I never really went into detail." Gabe chuckled at that last part, but it trailed off as he thought about Domenique.

"What happened?" Az asked, and he sensed concern in the demon's voice. The dishes were totally clean at this point, but he kept washing anyway.

"We had sex," Gabe said. "It was after a Friday happy hour. We both had a drink or two, but neither of us were drunk. I left my car at her place and we walked since the weather was finally warm. When we got there, she invited me in for some snacks, and… next thing you know, we were naked and fucking." Gabe knew his voice sounded sad, but he couldn't help it. Thinking about Domenique made him sad.

"Did you start it, or did she?" Az asked.

"She did. I was surprised but then horny. And it was really good sex. Afterwards, she told me she'd liked me for ages. I told her the same. I didn't feel like it was a lie since I had liked her for ages, just not in that way." Gabe put the bowls in the drying rack and shut off the water, but he didn't turn around. He felt Az come up behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"What happened?" Az asked softly. "The memory of her obviously makes you sad."

Gabe sighed. "We hooked up a few more times. We flirted and laughed and texted each other. I kinda thought we were dating. I mean, I still think we were dating during that time. Then one day after sex, she asked about fantasies and past experiences, so I told her how I wasn't usually attracted to people, and that I hadn't had a lot of experience. Then I told her about Greg.

"She was… shocked. She asked a ton of questions, and she got kind of… defensive? I kind of joked that everyone experimented with same sex attraction, and she said that everyone absolutely did not experiment with same sex attraction. She said that it wasn't typical for straight guys to have sex with other guys, and I said I never told her I was straight."

Gabe hung his head, and Az's other hand came up to his other shoulder, and the demon gently rubbed his back and shoulders. Gabe figured he needed to just get the rest out and be done with it.

"She was pissed. I was pissed. I got my stuff and left. She didn't text me that weekend, and I didn't text her. At work on Monday, she acted like nothing had happened and we were just colleagues. It wasn't a total cold shoulder, but it was close.

"I didn't know what to do. I really liked her, but I wasn't going to be with someone who was homophobic or judgmental, and I hadn't thought she was like that. We worked in a middle school. We had students who came out all the time, and she was always supportive of them. But I guess it was different when it was a guy she was sleeping with who might be bisexual.

"By Friday she said we needed to talk, and I agreed. We met up at her place, and despite her obviously sexy outfit choice, I had absolutely no desire to sleep with her. I was still so mad at how she had reacted. She talked about how it was a surprise and I couldn't be mad at her for her reaction, and how I was wrong for not reaching out and apologizing. I told her I wasn't going to apologize for sharing and answering questions she had asked.

"I'm not going to rehash it all, but we just couldn't come to any sort of middle ground. She just didn't see my side, and I didn't see hers. I wasn't going to apologize for who I was, and maybe that wasn't even what she wanted. I don't know. I left without us figuring anything out, and everything was just awkward after that.

"We were so close to the end of the year, and I had applied for the job here because I wanted to work in my hometown. I took the job, finished out the last couple weeks of school there, and we haven't talked in years," Gabe finished off lamely.

Az turned him around and pulled him into a hug. Gabe just kind of stood there awkwardly for a minute, but eventually he reached up and hugged Az back. It was… really nice to get a hug that wasn't from a family member.

"Anyway," Gabe said into Az's chest, "it was sad and upsetting. I wasn't in love with her, but I valued and missed her friendship. I tried to reach out during the summer after I left, but it was clear she wasn't interested in being friends, and I just wasn't interested in a relationship with her anymore. I don't know. The whole experience changed something in my head about her, and I couldn't see her that way anymore."

Eventually Gabe pulled back from the hug, and Az smiled at him again, saying, "Alright. Time for bed. Go find me some pajamas or boxers to wear and get ready for bed while I shut off the lights."

Gabe couldn't help it, he chuckled this time. "You're a demon and you're going to turn off the lights? How domestic. Will you check the locks too? Even though you could just spontaneously combust anyone who tried to break in?"

Az raised one eyebrow—and Gabe tried not to be jealous that everyone but him seemed to have that skill—and said, "The bloodstains and innards are such a mess to clean up. Locked doors are so much easier."

Gabe laughed out loud at that and turned toward his bedroom. So maybe having a demon stay with him wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. Despite talking about some pretty heavy stuff, he felt lighter than he had in quite a while.