Epilogue

"It'll be fine," Jon reassured Beel.

They had done five movie horror nights with Gabe and Az so far, but Beel had stubbornly stayed a frog every time. He had also, as promised, popped in for some heated rock time and to have heart to hearts with Gabe. Well, Gabe did the talking, and Beel did the croaking and ribbitting.

He could tell each movie night that Gabe was a little disappointed that Beel wasn't in human form, but he felt weirdly nervous about the whole thing. Jon knew it, and he didn't pressure Beel. Az, on the other hand, had finally called him up and told him that Gabe would love him no matter what and it was time to stop hiding parts of himself from the best friend he had spent the last twenty years with.

So here they were, ready for another movie night, only this time Beel wasn't a frog.

It was really fucking nerve wracking.

He still felt kind of awkward as a human, although never with Jon. His human always made him comfortable. Things had only gotten better over the last month and a half, and Beel could hardly believe his luck most days.

Who would've thought a lesser demon turned into a frog would end up with a soulmate?

Because he knew, without a doubt, that Jon was his soulmate. He'd finally told Jon all about it, a little nervous about how he'd take it. Jon had kissed him, asked if they really got eternity together, and then simply said, "Thank god."

After they'd ended up in bed (because they couldn't seem to resist each other), Jon had a few more questions. Neither of them really knew how it worked, but Jon admitted he felt that deeper connection down to his soul.

"I didn't know what to call it, but I knew you were more to me. Soulmate seems like a good name, because you feel like you're a part of my soul," he'd said.

After more romantic declarations (Beel hadn't known he was such a sap—he'd always hated romances, but he guessed it was different when you were living one), they'd again tumbled into bed. Or, in that instance, onto the couch.

Because the sex was amazing, and they seemed to have endless stamina for each other. But then everything was amazing with Jon, whether it was cooking dinner, working in the shop, or cuddling in bed.

Before he got too sidetracked thinking about sex again, Az opened the door, looked him up and down, raised an eyebrow, and huffed, "Finally."

"Are they here?" Gabe called from inside, and Az opened the door to let them in.

Jon walked in first, dragging Beel behind him by the hand.

Gabe spotted him and gasped, and Beel ducked his head shyly. Jon stepped aside but didn't let go of his hand.

That is until Beel found himself full of some type of Gabe-octopus hybrid that was suddenly clinging to him in a hug, and then Jon let go of his hand so Beel could hug Gabe back.

"Ohmygod, Beel! You're my Beel! You have tattoos like your frog form! I can't believe I finally get to hug you!" Gabe blubbered.

Beel looked helplessly over at Az and Jon, who were both grinning broadly.

"Ummm, hi," Beel said.

Fuck. Still with the awkward.

Gabe laughed tearfully, then he finally let go and moved back to look at Beel. "It's you," he gushed.

"Uh, yeah. It's me," Beel shrugged. "And you're… you. Yup."

Oh devils, Beel was ready for the ground to open up and swallow him into the pits. This was Gabe, for demon's sake. Gabe, who he had nursed through his first heartache and who he had croaked grumpily at through his first hangover.

"Come on then," Gabe said, and he pushed him over onto the couch, right next to the end table where he usually sat as a frog for movie night. "Do I still get to pet your back?" Gabe asked.

Beel burst out in laughter at that. "Um, sure, I guess?" he answered, looking over at Az and Jon. Those two were no help, though. They were grinning like loons, leaning against each other like they were two proud parents. Beel just rolled his eyes and sat down, Gabe scooching up next to him.

"Is this ok with you?" Gabe asked Jon, looking suddenly nervous. "We aren't… I mean, Beel is like my brother."

"Of course it's fine. Besides, I know Az is your soulmate," Jon assured him. That got Az looking back and forth between Jon and Beel, and then he was smiling even more broadly.

"Beel, you've gone and gotten your own soulmate! How in the afterlife did you manage that? I can almost see it if I squint. I probably didn't notice sooner since you were a frog every other time I've seen you," he added sarcastically.

Beel just grinned. "I guess Gabe had the right idea after all about getting me paired up."

There were congratulations all around, and the initial awkwardness, thank demons, seemed to pass.

Jon ended up on the floor on a cushion in front of Beel, his arm wrapped around Beel's leg (and his head occasionally pressed into the side of that leg to miss the scary parts). Gabe sat next to Beel on the couch, and Az cuddled up on Gabe's other side.

There was a bit of yelping (from Jon), a bit of commentary from Az ("Really, human? Don't you recognize evil?"), and there were even some back scratches for Beel from Gabe (which wasn't nearly as weird as Beel thought it would be). The popcorn was buttery, and Beel got to eat a lot more of it as a human, and the movie was suitably scary.

Beel wasn't ready to give up his frog form totally, but it was kinda nice to hang out with his soulmate and his family in this form. Maybe he was still an awkward human, but it was amazing to know that they loved him no matter what.

He supposed that's what family was all about.

Jon looked up at him and smiled, and Beel smiled back, leaning down for a quick kiss. Who knew that over twenty years ago a summoning to be a pet frog would lead to all this. Family and a soulmate.

Beel's very own fairy tale come true.