Wrath and Love

Wrath and Love: Chapter Twenty-Three

Pepito let the hot water from the shower head massage his body in a repeating pattern that was set for relaxation as he did his best to keep up the level of control that he'd had over Todd just moments before. Todd needed that control to remain relaxed enough to do what he needed to. At the same time, Pepito was trying not to dwell on exactly what it was that he was doing, and what he was possibly, hopefully, thinking about in the process, but he had to admit that it wasn't working too well. He had to keep tabs on Todd's feelings the whole time to keep the negative ones at bay, and that meant that he was very much aware of the same throbbing need that had seemed contagious in the bedroom.

He sighed as he gave in, taking his member into his hand and the memories from before into his mind. It wouldn't cause any harm anyway, now that he was away from Todd, even if the mental link made it slightly voyeuristic...even if what he really wanted was to open the link more thoroughly to find out exactly what Todd was thinking about...if it was the same thing he was thinking about.

The entire scenario was replayed in his imagination, Todd's lips and skin and most of all his words making Pepito feel both incredibly aroused and strangely warm and fuzzy inside. In his mind, he followed a different time line: one where Todd had called to him before he left the room, asking him softly if he would stay; one where he had held him and caressed him and whispered sweet encouraging words between kisses until they were both panting and Todd was asking if he could touch him too.

A loud knocking rattled his brain until such thoughts were shaken loose, along with his hold on Todd's mind, and he realized when the sound repeated, through a haze of steam and fading pleasure, that someone was actually knocking on the shower door. After calming his breathing, he opened the door a few inches so that he could stick his head out. He wasn't really surprised that it was Todd, seeing as how he was the only other person in the apartment, but he was surprised that Todd was still clad only in a pair of tight black underpants. “Uh, hey, Amigo.” He smiled stupidly. “May I help you?”

Todd bit the left side of his lower lip as he gripped his left arm with his right hand, which looked as if he was giving himself a small hug. “Hi, Pepi. I, uh, tried to do what you said, but...it was a lot harder after you were gone.” He looked down at his bare feet for a moment, then back up. “Do you think I could come in?”

For a few seconds, Pepito just stood there with the shower door half-way open, completely confused.

With a shrug, Todd smiled at the other's furrowed brow. “It's kind of cold out here. Of course, if you'd prefer not to have company, I could go sit by the fire.”

“No! That's, uh.... Sure, you can come in.” Pepito stepped back into the downpour, holding the door open until Todd was inside as well.

“Umm. That's much better,” Todd said as he too stepped into the hot water.

“Yeah.” Pepito shook his head, even while a smirk was forming on his own lips. “Can I offer you a drink? I'm afraid all I've got on hand is water, but I could summon some tea bags.”

Todd laughed. “I take it you're not accustomed to entertaining here?”

“Not so. I've entertained here before quite a few times, but I'm afraid that the company usually isn't so refined.”

“'Refined'?” Todd raised a brow.

Pepito nodded. “The attire is usually more causal as well.”

“What's more causal than underwear?”

“Nothing.” He grinned.

“But then...oh. That's cute.” He looked Pepito over with a mischievous glint in his eyes. “So I'm over dressed...would it make you feel better if I was dressed more like you?”

“I might help.” Pepito wrapped his arms around Todd when the other stepped forward and pulled him closer by his upper arm at the same time. Their lips came together again and again before one of his hands finally managed to hold on to the back of Todd's head to get a deeper kiss as the other one ran up and down a wet back. He shivered when his own back pressed against the cold shower wall while Todd's warm chest pressed against his own, their erections rubbing together through the thin layer of underwear.

Todd eventually pulled back to speak in a husky tone, “Wanna be a gracious host and help me take it off?”

“I...that sounds good, but-wait!” His hand gripped the elastic band of the underwear, this time to hold it in place instead of pulling it down. The other one tilted Todd's face up to look him in the eyes. “You're not under my control now. How do you feel?”

Smirking, Todd looked down between their bodies, then back up at Pepito. “You can't tell? I thought you said I needed this.”

Pepito nodded. “I just want to make sure you're really alright with it. I mean, obviously, we don't have to do anything that makes you uncomfortable. I just thought that being with another person would be a little too much right-”

“Pepi, be quiet. Don't over think it.”

“You're right. Sorry.”

“I'll forgive you if you make it up to me.”

“And how to you propose I do that?”

“Well, first you can stop being rude and help me off with my attire.”

“Of course. Where are my manners?” Pepito pulled Todd close for a moment to switch their positions around, kneeling in front of him afterward and taking both sides of the underwear into hand. He leaned forward to press soft kisses onto Todd's belly and abdomen as the black fabric slowly came down. When he came down to the crotch, his lips moved over to a thigh instead, and he tossed the underwear that Todd had just stepped out of into a corner. “Better?”

“Almost. I think you missed a spot.”

“Oh, this?” Pepito smiled, giving his head a questioning tilt toward Todd's prominent erection as his voice became a little more serious. “Do you really want me to?”

Todd pouted as he ran his hand slowly through Pepito's long, dark hair. “I thought I'd made that pretty clear. Heh. My shower etiquette must need work.”

“No. It's working.” One hand took a hold of Todd's hip, while the other wrapped its fingers around his member, delicately at first and then more firmly as Pepito pressed an experimental kiss to the tip. When there was no protest, he took it in further, running his tongue around the extra sensitive area just below the glands.

A shocked, pleasured moan coursed through Todd's body, and Pepito had to tighten his grip on his hip to keep him in place against the wall as his head bobbed up and down, his tongue running along the length and again around the tip for variety. He felt his own erection throb with need when the moans turned into his name and the hand fisted in his hair, but he was perfectly content to ignore it for the time being. This was far too amazing to risk ruining with the revelation that the vocalized feelings were more than a little mutual.

He was literally pulled from his thoughts when Todd pushed him back a little before jerking him up by the shoulders and hugging him tightly. He returned the hug with mindless passion until his brain finally caught up with what was happening. “Amigo? Are you okay?”

Todd nodded with the sides of their heads pressed together, then turned to give him a series of kisses, starting with his lips, then his cheek. He finally reached his neck by the time he had reversed their situations once again, with Pepito against the wall.

The kissing became more vigorous on both their parts when Pepito held both of their members together with one hand so that every little movement brushed them together and caused a surge of pleasure. He squeezed them tighter, closer, then started stroking them both up and down as best he could. The kisses became segmented by short bouts of deep breathing as they grew closer to orgasm, but just as he felt himself nearing the edge, Todd pulled back. He leaned down to lift Pepito's left leg so that he could press his erection between his thighs as he delved back into his mouth with his tongue, seemingly more enthusiastically than before.

Pepito felt both shock and heat ripple through his abdomen and then up into his chest as he returned the kisses haphazardly. One of his hands searched for purchase along the tile wall of the shower as the other one held onto Todd's shoulder without protest. He reflected vaguely that a position like this might be difficult to maintain if he didn't have demonic powers to help support it. “I didn't know you like it on top.”

Todd laughed near his ear, then nudged the side of his face with his nose. “What, can't take it?”

“Oh, I can take it. I do prefer to give, and I have to admit that this is kind of a surprise, but you're the guest. Just allow me to call some lube from the drawer over there.”

“You're sweet.”

“Only because I'm in love.”

Todd pulled back a little to give him a strange look. “I suppose that would explain quite a few things.”

“Uh, yeah. Sorry if that was out of place. I just thought this might be an appropriate time for a confession. It doesn't mean you have to say it back.”

He looked down for a moment, biting his lip.

“Do you still want to do this?” Pepito's hand tightened on Todd's shoulder and he held up the aforementioned lube that had just made its way over the top of the glass door with the other one.

When Todd gave him a reassuring smile and then leaned in for another kiss, he squirted some of the semi-liquid into his hand, then lowered it to coat Todd's shaft as he worked it up and down between them. As he did so, he also used his powers to lube his own entrance that he otherwise would not have been able to reach in that position, then sent the lube to rest on the wire shelf that hung from the shower wall with the soap and shampoo.

Todd spread his legs wider, taking advantage of the fact that Pepito's feet didn't actually need to touch the floor because of his levitation powers. “Are you ready?”

Pepito nodded and braced himself between Todd and the wall as he guided the other member between his legs, its tip pressing lightly against his hole. “You?”

Leaning forward again to press a sweet accenting kiss to his lips, Todd let his free hand slide up Pepito's face and into his hair. The kiss deepened as he pressed himself against Pepito's tight ring of muscles. He pulled back, then pushed forward in a gentle rhythm that elicited moans and whimpers from them both as his mouth moved away from Pepito and to the juncture between his neck and shoulder.

Suddenly the gentle sucking from Todd's mouth turned into a fast and hard biting that broke through Pepito's skin with little effort. He moaned in a mixture of pleasure and pain, then gasped when Todd's member thrust up into him almost brutally, filling him completely with one swift movement. His own nails where digging into the peach skin of Todd's shoulder and his breathing was ragged, but he didn't purposefully voice any complaints as a pounding rhythm was set.

Every thrust sent red hot tearing pain through his entrance because the first one had come so fast, stretched him too quickly, but there was pleasure too, and he had been pretty thoroughly lubricated thanks to his abilities. Under the circumstances, it probably felt a lot worse than it was, and maybe after everything that Todd had been through, this was what he needed to get the hang-ups out of his system. Maybe it was a minor payback for the rape that had occurred in Pepito's prison system...the rape that wouldn't have happened had Pepito's rules not trapped him there.

He gasped again when Todd's grip on his hair was used to pin his head to the wall and the member inside him seemed to pulse and grow in length and width with every movement. Shock flooded his brain, breaking the damn of illusion as the length also began to feel harder and almost scaly. “F-father?”

Todd stopped sucking on the wound on his shoulder to look into his eyes, his own becoming an unnatural bright green, with a cunning smirk and a small, derisive laugh. The thrusting slowed down to a near halt. “Well, well. It took you long enough, didn't it?” When there was no answer, he continued, “I've been hearing some very disturbing things about you lately, Son, so I decided to pay you a visit, see if they're true. And yes, I can already see that they are.”

“What...what sort of things?” Pepito shifted awkwardly against the wall, letting his powers keep him up against it entirely now instead of letting 'Todd' pick up some of the slack.

“Why these sorts of things, of course.”

Pepito groaned involuntarily at the hard thrust that came with the emphasized word. “You never cared about that before.”

“Yes, but your job has never been so vital as now. The Christ will be incarnated immanently, and you're too busy playing house to properly cover all the bases. And I hear tell that you waited forty-eight hours before giving the orders for the detainment of the guard who released those prisoners at the New York facility.”

“Took that long to find out for sure who was involved.”

“And by that time he was dead.”

“So? You can question him in Hell.”

“Oh, I have. He was murdered.”

“By who?”

“By whoever let those prisoners go. He didn't see them. And the Elite Guards don't have orders to capture the prisoners for some reason.”

“The woman is pregnant. I don't think they'll be a further threat.”

“You don't think, boy, that's just it.” Satan looked down between them at his son's still half-erect cock . “Not with your brain in any case. You're letting him make you weak, and it's going to be your downfall.”

“Todd?” Pepito winced when his member was given an almost painful tug. “But he's-”

“He's getting in the way, and both of you know it.”

“But, Father, I-”

“Fix it, Pepito,” his grip tightened threateningly on the growing length that he was still holding, “or I will do it for you.”

“I don't know how! His problems are...complicated.”

“Perhaps. Yours are relatively simple, however. You're his Master, not the other way around, and you need to start acting like it. Make sure he knows that your affections and generosity must be re-payed with loyalty, and that any disrespect will result in punishment, and he will fall into line.”

“Was that your strategy with Mother?” Pepito let the frustration, both with the divorce and with his current situation, seep out in his voice, trying his best to ignore the sensations that the hand that was now squeezing and stroking him was inducing.

“No. Letting her think she was in control for so long was my mistake with your mother. The word mistake there is significant, but mind you, I was always in control in important matters. The difference with you and Todd is that you are not, and you can not afford that kind of weakness right now. I don't care what you do with him, or even if you love him, but you must member that you, and now through you, Todd, belong to me. Your first allegiance is to me, Pepito. Do you understand?”

“Of course, Father.”

“Good.” Closing the distance between them, Satan crashed their lips together in a hard, fiery kiss as his hand movements on Pepito's length picked up speed.

Pepito held back at first, feeling suborn and proud because of both the reprimand and the illusion that his father had used to initiate the encounter, but after a good five minutes of one-sided prodding, he finally began to kiss back. When he did, Satan pulled back just enough to whisper against his lips. “I can keep up this guise, if you'd like. You can pretend I'm Todd.”

Pepito stared at him, letting the silence drag out for a few seconds, though he wasn't really considering it. His father's smirk and teasingly condescending tone made him want to lash out, but he didn't want his response to be full of anger. That would only betray more weakness, and, of course, disrespect would get him no where. He knew that he had to submit to this. He always did, of course, but now Satan's attention was on Todd and not just himself. “No, thanks.”

“Too emotionally painful?” Satan raised a brow.

With a shrug, Pepito slipped an arm back around his neck, spreading his legs for a moment to adjust them securely around his waist. “It's just not true. Besides, you want to merge with your spirit, correct? I'm pretty sure Todd can't do that.”

“True.” His Todd-guise melded into a form that Pepito knew he was more fond of, though it was still held tightly together to keep up the effect of near-material presence. The skin tightened on his face it was almost skull-like as twin horns spiraled from both sides and his height rose by roughly two feet, pushing Pepito higher up the wall of the shower as it did so.

A minor shift of consciousness and Pepito's mental safe-guards on his own demonic form were dropped as well to let them come to the surface and co-exist with his human one. As black spiritual tendrils came from his father to wrap around his limbs, he sent out his own, which were of a green hue like his skin, to mingle with them and connect them together even more. The tendrils burned his spiritual skin and seemed to suck with a desperate, demanding force as they tugged against his own. Finally, some of them dipped through his aura and beneath his skin, deep into his soul to connect with the core energy there.

For a moment that could have been an entirety, there was nothing but darkness and fire and unyielding conviction in his purpose, in their purpose, and then it was over. Pepito found himself once again alone and dazed in the shower, expect this time he was on its tile floor, leaning against a corner, but there were no doubts about what had just occurred.

He breathed deep and slow to calm himself down, then stood to wash his body again even though there would be no physical leftovers from his father, only his own semen on his front. It still felt slightly dirty. He laughed to himself at that thought. It wasn't as if this had been the first time, but it had been a particularly dirty trick, even if his father did have a point about his concerns for Todd taking precedence over other important matters.

Even so, he wasn't going to follow his father's advice on keeping Todd in line if it wasn't absolutely necessary. He had little doubt that it would work, given enough time and effort, but the cost was too steep as he really didn't want to break Todd like he was some crazed, wild animal. He was already broken enough.

After drying off and changing into a semi-formal outfit, he headed into living room to find Todd lying on the couch. One corner of his lip turned upward. He looked like he had thrown himself backward lengthwise as his head was on the middle cousin and his knees were on the arm closest to the hall with his socked feet dangling about a foot or so from the floor.

Pepito walked softly closer to remove Todd's left forearm from where it rested over his eyes, which were closed in sleep, making thick dark lashes stand out against his skin. He took a few extra seconds to read his energy, just to reassure himself, at the same time wishing that he hadn't let his guard down like that in the shower, before waking him. “Todd? Hey, Todd.”

“Uuhm,” Todd mumbled, more annoyed with his hand for waving itself around in his face than he normally would have been had he gotten adequate sleep the night before. He tried to jerk it back to cover his eyes again before realizing, when it got stuck, that Pepito was finally out of the shower and opening his eyes.

“You fell asleep.”

“Yeah.” Letting Pepito retain his hold on his arm, Todd used his free one to push himself into a sitting position. He looked to the clock on the mantle. “You were in there for a really long time.”

Pepito pulled Todd's arm until he was standing, then released him with a shrug. “I lost track of time, I guess.”

With a roll of his eyes, Todd turned to go into the kitchen. “Well, the food's gonna be cold now. And if I had left it in the oven where you had it it would be completely dried out.” He gestured to the set table.

“What do you want me to say, Todd? I'm sorry I took a long shower. Damn. You don't have to be an angry house-wife about it. It's not even like you're the one who cooked.” Pepito took a seat with a shake of his head.

“What? I'm not acting like a house-wife, alright?” He huffed. “Do you want juice or coffee?”

“Coffee.” Pepito smiled as Todd filled him a cup and added sugar and milk even though he hated coffee himself, but managed to stop himself from further picking at the oh-so-obvious mental scab that seemed to have developed over the time that they had been living together...and occasionally pretending to be a couple. “Thanks.”

Todd handed the coffee over, then sat down to his omelet with a glass of orange juice for himself. “You're welcome.” He ate the cold mixture in silence for a few moments, waiting on Pepito to say something, but it didn't seem as though it was going to happen any time soon. “Don't you think we should talk about it?”

“About what?”

Todd's grip tightened on his fork. “About that little 'massage' earlier?”

“Oh.” Pepito frowned. He had almost let himself believe that he was going to escape the backlash from that encounter. “Right now?”

“Yes, unless you've got something better to do.”

“Todd, this is just really,” Pepito paused to lean his forehead on one fist, “really...not a good time for me.”

“Oh, I'm sorry.” Todd smiled sarcastically. “I didn't realize that this was so difficult for you. I suppose when you're ready you can tell me all about it.”

He sighed. “Alright, let's talk. How was the last hour for you? Did you take my advice about your chakra? ”

“My chakra is none of your business.” Todd sat down his fork so he could point at his throat. “And as a result of the last hour, I've got a hickey. And my neck's not the only place.”

“Oh. Sorry? I'm sure Tess will let you borrow some make-up to cover it if you must.”

“That's not the point. I don't want a fake apology. I want an explanation, and don't think that I'm going to believe that you needed to suck the blood out of my skin to help with the check-up thing either. I'm not an idiot.”

“When have I ever called you an idiot?”

“You've never called me one, but you imply it pretty often, don't you think?”

“I think you assume I'm implying it fairly often.”

“Pepito, we're not getting sidetracked on this. Just answer the question, please.”

“Very well...since you said 'please'. You want the reason, correct?”

Todd nodded.

“Well, you don't have to look so traumatized. I wasn't trying to get laid...at least no immediately. I just thought that you needed to admit to yourself that it's what you want.”

“Oh, that's so much better! And just what makes you think you know what I want anyway? It doesn't really count when someone kisses you back if you're manipulating their emotions with your powers, you know.”

Pepito tapped his own forehead. “I can read your thoughts and emotions, remember? I could feel everything that went through your mind last night, during that kiss, even the parts that you weren't consciously aware of. This morning, all I did was take away the fears, worries and guilt. I didn't add anything.” He paused, waiting for a response, but Todd only continued to stare at him with a lost look in his eyes. “You asked me to tell Minnie and Roman the truth, right? But isn't it important to at least know what the truth is yourself first? And if you want to be with me, then maybe there's no point in telling them that we were kidding.” He heard Todd mumble something softly to himself. “What? Come on, Amigo, I-”

“I said, it's not fair,” Todd cut him off, trying to keep the unshed tears out of his voice, “It's not fair that I can never even know if I'm getting a straight answer out of you, but you can play with me in any way you can think of. And then you still say that I'm not a toy or a pet.” His voice got rougher toward the end, and he pushed his plate and then his chair away before walking swiftly to his room.

“Todd. Wait a minute, please.” Pepito was quick to follow, not that Todd was really capable of locking him out or anything. Todd stood in his bed room, looking out the window with his back to Pepito, who stopped a few feet behind him. He was really in no mood for a long, dramatic confrontation, but it was better than explaining why he wasn't or letting Todd think he just didn't give a fuck. “I wasn't playing with you; I was trying to help. The feelings are there whether you acknowledge them or not.”

“Yeah, but maybe I'd rather not.”

“That doesn't sound very healthy, Amigo.”

“Maybe not, but what am I supposed to do about it?” Todd swirled around to face him. “You know what? Fine, I admit it. There's a part of me that does want you that way, but there's a bigger part that doesn't, and you can't just edit that out and pretend. That's what's not fair. All of those worries and doubts, which are legitimate from where I'm standing, by the way, those are a part of me and my feelings. But you just see them as little annoyances that get in the way of what you want...whatever the hell that is.”

“They're not...I know you need to work through all that stuff and that some of it is even my fault...personally my fault. That's what I meant earlier when I said you weren't ready, and I never intended to go any further than we did with you in that state. I told you last night that I don't want that from you if you don't want to give it, and I meant it.”

“So your answer is to convince me that I do want it? It's not enough that you already own my soul and you practically own my body, but now you have to have my heart too. And for what? To save you the trouble and headache of telling Minnie and Roman that you've been lying to them?”

“No. I don't have to have your heart; I just want you to be true to it. All those jokes that we tell, all those little touches, there's something under them. Maybe they're always has been. The thing with Minnie and Roman was just a catalyst. I'll still tell them if you want.”

“I do.”

“Alright. Do you want to come with me to do it now?”

“Not now. Later. Maybe tonight. It might be more convincing when the hickey isn't bright red.”

“Okay.” Letting out a short chuckle at the last remark, which soon died when Todd's expression changed, Pepito took a few cautious steps closer. “Are you alright?”

“You've got one too.” He received a confused look. “A hickey.”

“Oh, shit. Really?”

Todd stepped closer to carefully turn Pepito's collar down so he could inspect the mark better, discovering that it looked more like a deep bite mark than a hickey. “I didn't do that...and it wasn't there before. You were with someone in the shower, but no one came or left.” He swallowed. “A demon?”

Pepito nodded slowly, a little on edge now because Todd was acting very strange. His words were slow and careful, like some character in a horror movie that was slowly unraveling the frightening truth of a twisted plot. When he pulled his hand away from his shirt and started backing up, Pepito caught him by the arm, holding him firmly in place. “Todd, look at me. I am a demon, remember? Well, half demon anyway.”

“I know. So you...summon them sometimes, when I'm not around, for...uh...”

“Sex? Sometimes. Sometimes they come on their on, for various reasons. You know, several members of my staff are incarnated demons. It's not any stranger to me than being with a human...unless you think that the mixing is wrong and that all half breeds should just be with other half breeds to minimize the wrongness or something.”

Todd forced a small laugh and shook his head. “You should be with whomever you want to be with, Pep...as long as they want to be with you too, of course. Does Marla know?”

“Marla doesn't mind. But it bothers you, doesn't it? The demon thing? That's why you don't want to be with me, even when the sinful aspect is irrelevant now?”

Todd sighed and looked down. “I guess it is, partly. I mean, it is kind of scary.”

“Heh. Squee. I suppose I should have expected that. You've always been afraid of me, even though on the night of your initiation, you said you weren't.”

“Well, I wasn't then...at that moment.” He looked back up. “It's not like I live in perpetual fear of you. Anyway, it's not you specifically, it's demonic sex in general. It just seems like something I wouldn't like.” There was a pause during which Pepito gave him a questioning look that promised to make the situation even more awkward. “Alright, so yeah, I like pain sometimes, in very moderate amounts, but that's...it's just too much.”

Pepito's brow only furrowed more. “Demonic sex doesn't have to be painful.”

“Really? That looks pretty painful...it's like you got mauled and you didn't even remember it was there until I noticed. Doesn't that hurt?”

“It stings a little.” He tried a smile when Todd have him an incredulous look. “Alright, it flat out hurts out that you've brought my attention to it, but it's not like I can't heal it...and it's not like I'd do that to you.”

“Why not?”

“You know why not.” Pepito pulled him closer by the arm he still held, then let go to wrap him in an inescapable hug. “I've told you before, I'd never purposefully harm you, and I won't hurt you expect in good ways and only if you ask me to.”

Todd returned the hug, more because the positioning was awkward if he didn't than because he really wanted to, but as the time passed and they continued to stay like that he began to relax more. Leaning the left side of his head against Pepito's right, unwounded shoulder, he thought that this conversation that he had forced between them had only heightened his conflicted feelings from before. The 'nightmare' with the demons had been real...and it was odd that Pepito could enjoy that kind of thing and still want him. “Pepito?”

“Humm?” Pepito leaned his head down, one side against Todd's so his mouth was closer to his ear. He felt more at peace now, and what he really wanted to do was go back to sleep, preferably with Todd in tow, but alas, the time for his meeting was steadily approaching.

“Earlier, in my room, you said that you loved me.”

“Yes?”

“Why do you only ever say it when you're joking or you think I'm not fully aware?”

“Probably because that way it won't hurt when you don't believe me.”

“Oh.”

Pepito moved back a little to look into his eyes. “You don't, do you?”

“No, I believe you.”

“You don't sound like you believe me. But if it will help, I'll say it now: I love you. Very much. And it's okay if you never want to be with me in a romantic way. We've always agreed that friendship is more important than those things anyway, right?”

Todd nodded, then let out a deep breath as he was finally allowed to take a step back. “Thank you. I...I love you too, Pep, but you were right about me not being ready for anything like that. I don't want to regret it.”

“Do you regret other times? I mean, you know, consensual times in the past?”

Thinking of Jamie, he sighed again. “No. But that was different.”

“How so?”

“It was...I don't know...” He smiled, almost laughing at the idea of explaining that it was a loving, committed, equal relationship. It was pointless really. He was never going to be able to squeeze real equality out of this thing with Pepito, and...well, could you really get any more committed to someone than letting them own your very soul?

“That's okay. Just as long as you're not in denial anymore. I've heard it hinders psychological processes anyway.” Pepito smiled too, then ruffled his hair before giving his wrist watch a quick glance. “Are we okay for now?”

“Yeah.” Todd raised an eyebrow. “Sorry for taking up your time.”

“Oh, it's not that. I just have a meeting in a few minutes, but it's in the building, and they will wait for me, of course.”

“I guess it's good to be king.”

Pepito smirked. “That it is. So, would you mind accompanying me?”

“Uh, what kind of meeting is it?”

“It's a coven meeting, but you can just bring a book and wait in the reception room if you want.”

“Pepito, I can't do that.”

“Why not?”

“Because. Some of them are already mad that I'm in the coven at all. Not going to meetings and things makes it worse, but if I actually go there and wait outside...it's not even like I'm busy.”

“So?” Pepito laughed.

“So, they'll all talk about me and hate me even more.”

“Aww. You want me to blow them up for you?”

“No.” Todd chucked a little despite himself as Pepito took his arm again to pull him from the room.