Chapter 14: A Valentine

Hon didn’t have to sleep and he wasn’t even tired, he just felt bad. 

He got tired of doing nothing soon, stood up and sat on the balcony for the entire night, humming the already well-known melody while watching the movement of his kingdom. All the cars and people passing by... He could only wonder where they were all going.

He watched the never ending lights and listened to the sounds of his kingdom, which gave the whole place some kind of a never-sleeping town atmosphere. 

Of course it was like that, since none of the citizens needed to sleep and some of them even forgot about the existence of this activity. 

This atmosphere never changed. The demon realm didn’t really have day nor night, sun nor moon or anything like that. It was always dark, almost as if they lived underground. 

But, because multiple brains from all the times met here, they managed to transport materials from the human realm and also make use of the new local materials, they soon created everything that ever existed and even more. 

If any human ever appeared in the demon realm without knowing the principe of time here, they would probably only think that it’s some kind of meeting of multiple cultures. 

It actually was, but it wasn‘t just anything occasional, it was just the way things worked there. 

Since Hon got to the demon realm with no memories of his life, he really enjoyed finding out new things every day, but, eventually, some things got more complicated and it all started to get boring, because it was everything that he has ever known. 

The only thing that still fascinated him were the lights of his endless kingdom. 

Seeing these lights, that he wasn’t able to see for the past 50 years, he realised that he, at some point, missed this all. 

He was standing on the balcony, leaning against the railings, when he noticed the doors of the room that was connected with the very same balcony, opened. 

And the one who walked out was Xuan. He was all shaggy after just waking up and yawning, he didn‘t even notice Hon at first and just went directly to the railings to look at the lights. 

„I haven’t had a sleep this good for ages...“ He leaned against the railings and closed his eyes, still not noticing Hon. 

„...Good morning.“ Hon said after a while and Xuan’s body jerked. 

„H-hi...“ Xuan replied and looked back at the city. „Is it morning already?“ Xuan asked. 

„We don’t have mornings here...“ Hon said silently and moved closer to Xuan. 

„I see...“ 

Hon hesitated for a while, but, in the end, still asked: „Do you... Want to go to the banquet with me?“

Xuan looked back at Hon and blushed a bit. „If you don’t mind...“

„I can take three guests with me, so, I thought...“

„I’ll go.“

Hon smiled „Good.“

They fell into the awkward silence once again. Hon didn’t realise that their rooms were so close to each other and didn’t expect to meet Xuan there. 

„Look, about what happened yesterday with Dante...“ Hon started, but Xuan cut him off. 

„I don’t care. It’s your privacy and we’re not dating or anything...“ 

And Hon realised it just now. It was his life and him and Xuan weren’t a couple, so, there was no point in hiding anything, and definitely not something he didn’t even remember. 

Then, why was he so embarrassed when Xuan heard it and really didn’t want him to know it? 

And Xuan gave it another thought in his sleep. He had no idea what to think about it. That’s what people do, right? It’s not unusual for someone to have an ex, is it? 

Then, why did he still feel like he was betrayed? He admitted that he loved Hon long ago, so, was he, perhaps... Jealous? He felt even worse than when he saw Ortel sitting on him. 

And now, he and Hon were in this awkward situation, and they both hated it. So, Xuan decided to not think about it anymore and just act like he always acts. 

He felt like he wasn’t in his skin lately and he knew that Hon noticed it too, but, why? He should be happy that everything worked out as planned and he’s now in the demon realm! 

„Let’s forget about it. Sorry if I’ve been acting weird lately it’s just... Everything’s changing so fast and...“

„Yeah... We haven’t asked questions yet, have we?“ Hon used a move that was able to destroy the awkwardness. 

„I thought we don’t have to do that anymore, since you...“

„We never did it just for practice, did we?“ Hon asked and Xuan’s eyes widened and his face started burning red once again. 

He smiled and said: „O-Okay! Let me think of some...“

„Did you have any pets?“ Hon asked before Xuan could think of anything. 

„One goldfish that died after a day... And also all those snakes that followed me everywhere... My family also had a cat, but every time I tried to pet it, it scratched me. You?“

„I probably didn’t have any when I was alive... But, like, 40 years ago, I found a cat and it travelled with me for a while. It was safe for me to keep around since it had 9 lives...“

„Do cats really have 9 lives?“

„I guess... It didn’t die that quickly.“

Xuan smiled and thought about something while looking at the city lights, then, he asked:

„You managed to hide my misfortune before... Can you, somehow, get rid of my curse?“

Hon shook his head. „Not of this curse.“

„What do you mean?“

„This is a generational curse, which means someone cursed your ancestors. If your parents weren’t cursed, it’s probably second or third generational...“ Hon said and thought about it for a bit. It could’ve been more than only 3 generations, since it was this strong. 

„Well, that’s amazing. Thank you, ancestors!“ Xuan yelled towards the void above them and started laughing. 

Hon looked at him and giggled.

„In human time, it’s already 2pm. You slept for quite a long time.“ Hon said and leaned his back against the railings. 

Xuan did the same as him and laughed awkwardly. 

„I’ve never got to sleep this long since something always happened early in the morning and... Wait, isn’t the banquet starting soon?“ 

„It is. Do you want to eat anything?“

„Something... Yes.“

„Say whatever you’d like.“

„Hm... Mushroom soup? I guess.“

Hon smiled and snapped his fingers. Xuan blinked and, suddenly, he felt a wind slightly lifting his hair. When he opened his eyes, Hon was holding a bowl with mushroom soup in it. 

„Let’s go inside, shall we?“ Hon suggested, still smiling. 

„S-sure...“ Xuan didn’t want to take advantage of everything Hon’s doing for him and he felt slightly bad for granting him his every wish, but how the hell was he able to get that bowl so fast? 

He blushed and looked away. Then he noticed that Hon was patiently waiting for him to go in first, so he blushed even more and rushed back into his room with Hon following him. 

He put the bowl in front of Xuan and sat on the other side of the table, facing him. 

Xuan was slowly eating his mushroom soup and Hon was just staring at him. 

Xuan was starting to get a bit uncomfortable and wasn’t sure if staring at someone eating was normal, but, then he remembered that he stared at Hon in that Rika’s cottage while he was eating too, so, even if it wasn’t normal, it was just what they did. 

Hon was actually staring at him, because, although he was right next to him for the past few days, he never noticed how pretty face he had. 

When he thought about it, Xuan really had a very feminine face. If he didn’t have a masculine voice, people wouldn’t probably even notice he’s a boy with his gentle and shy personality. 

When Hon saw that Xuan had already finished his meal, he wanted to snap again, but Xuan stopped him. 

„Wait! I told Rika I’ll be cleaning my dishes myself!“

Hon looked at him, surprised. 

„Well, I won’t stop you from doing that, but you took your time eating and we have to get somewhere else in just three hours.“

Xuan understood, silently nodded and stood up. Hon snapped his fingers and the same wind as before came and took the dishes away, only a silent closing of the doors could’ve been heard. 

„Well then, let’s get changed now...“ Hon said and just then he noticed confused Xuan standing in the corner. 

„Change to what?“

„We’re going to a banquet and the etiquette says that-“ and he suddenly remembered that Xuan was most likely never at a banquet before, certainly not the demon one, and doesn’t know what etiquette is at all. 

„I forgot you don’t know what’s that... Well, basically, a banquet is something like a party and there is an unwritten rule that we should go there in suits or dresses.“ Hon explained.

„But I don’t have this thing called a suit?“

„I have 700 of them. Something will surely fit you.“

Xuan nodded and Hon stood up too. He walked up to the wardrobes that were covering one wall of Xuan’s room and started looking through the clothing in it. 

Most of it were just whole suits, vests, or shirts, since that was everything Hon ever wore. He didn’t really need any casual clothes since he felt most comfortable in this. 

„Are you okay with black, or do you want some other color? Maybe something with some ornaments or more fancy? “

„I have no idea what a suit looks like.“

Hon realised that he probably never saw a suit before and slapped his forehead. Then, he reached for a black suit with a few shiny ornaments that was too small for him and shown it to Xuan. 

„It’s basically something similar to what I’m wearing now... With a jacket. This one should fit you. I can... Help you to get into it if you don’t know how...“

„I’ll figure it out by myself, thanks.“ Xuan said and took the suit. 

Getting clothes from Hon already felt so good, but Hon actually dressing him up? Nope. Not happening. He would go nuts.

Hon just picked some dark blue jacket that would fit the colour of his pants and put it on, then he turned around to see Xuan struggling with his suit. 

He was sitting on the bed and tried to put on the trousers. He knew how to wear them, but wasn’t used to it since most of the time he wore only his kimono. And to add to all of it, he never saw modern leather trousers like that before. 

Hon blushed a bit and said: „T-try to put it on more gently...“

Xuan listened to him and it was, suddenly, so easy. These trousers didn’t have a zip or buttons, so, after figuring it out, it wasn’t so difficult to put it on. Then, he reached for the shirt. 

As he was putting it on, Hon noticed a bruise on his chest and wanted to ask about it, but decided to not to do so, since he might recall something painful and he really didn’t want that to happen. He also noticed that necklace of his and remembered that he still has to give it to Rika somehow. 

Again, Xuan knew what buttons were, but he struggled with buttoning his shirt since they were much different from the ones that he knew. 

Hon sighed and walked over to him. 

„You just put this through here, it’s not that complicated.“ Hon explained and started buttoning his shirt. 

He forgot about the necklace’s power and when he accidentally touched it again, well, he was hurt by it again. He quickly let go and pretended like nothing happened, leaving the last button under Xuan’s chin unbuttoned. 

Xuan felt very embarrassed for not even knowing how to do such a simple thing as buttoning his shirt. 

„Then here, you put the vest on. You need to button it too.“ Hon said and reached for the vest that was laying on the bed behind Xuan.

He didn’t even realise it, but he leaned above Xuan, who, once again, looked like a fresh tomato. 

He buttoned his vest, then backed off a bit and looked at him. Hon really liked collecting and styling suits for some reason. 

He didn’t care about how he looks, but he liked looking at various suits just being somewhere or on someone. 

He didn’t think that suits suited him, yet, he still wore them, because it was the only clothing he felt comfortable in. 

It was a strange hobby, but Hon didn’t mind, since no one ever seemed to mind or care about it. It was probably the fact that no one even realised it was a hobby to begin with. 

And now, after 50 years of not even seeing suits, he finally got his very own model, so, of course he had to look at him from every angle. 

Shirt and vest really suited Xuan and Hon wondered if he’ll look this good in the whole suit. And as he was thinking if he should give him a tie or a bow tie, Xuan brought him back into reality:

„Hon?“

Hon wasn’t really moving this entire time, he was just staring at Xuan with burning eyes, as if he was sucking up his soul, which really scared him. 

„Do you like sticks or butterflies more?“ Hon suddenly asked. 

„What kind of question is that?!“

„Just answer. I can’t decide.“

„Butterflies, I guess?“

Hon just nodded and walked over to the shelf. He picked up a dark blue bow tie that matched the colour of his suit and got back to Xuan. 

„If it’ll start choking you, scream. I don’t want to hurt you again.“ Hon said and put the bow over Xuan’s head. He lifted his hair and started bowing it around his neck. 

„He‘s going to choke me again?!“ Xuan thought and really didn’t know what was going on at this point. 

„Is this okay?“ Hon asked and let go of the bow tie. Xuan just nodded and touched his neck. 

„Don’t touch it much or it can get loosened.“ Hon warned, but Xuan had still no idea what was around his neck and what it looked like. 

Hon noticed Xuan’s confused face and laughed. „Sorry if I’m too harsh or something... Just put on the jacket.“

So, Xuan put on the jacket, as he was ordered. He started putting on his old boots, but Hon stopped him, took his old boots, went back to the closet and brought a pair of elegant black lacquer shoes in Xuan’s size. 

Xuan finally finished his outfit without knowing how it looked at all and stood up. 

Hon backed off again and measured him. He then smiled, gave him thumbs up and dragged him to the mirror. 

„Is this what people wear in the future?“

„Yes.“

„Does it look good on me? I can’t tell.“

„You look stunning.“ Hon stood next to Xuan and embraced Xuan’s waist from behind. Xuan blushed again and backed off. 

Hon released his hand and looked at Xuan in surprise. 

Before, Xuan didn’t mind when Hon touched him like that, he even wanted Hon to touch him. So, why was he backing off now? 

Hon just wanted to feel his small and soft body in the suit, he wanted to see the two of them standing close to each other and compare it... 

He didn’t really know why, he just really liked touching Xuan. It was like petting a cat or some other small animal. 

And Xuan was getting more and more nervous around Hon, ever since he saw his demon form for the first time. 

If something like this happened before, he wouldn’t mind, he would be even happier than before and leaned against Hon. 

But now he couldn’t do that. He was so scared that he might do something wrong, or that he might overreact. He was overreacting all the time now and he didn’t really enjoy it. 

Maybe it was just that his crush got even deeper, or, it was that he finally realised who Hon really is and that he couldn‘t do everything he wanted around him. 

And, perhaps, it was both. He was so afraid that he might make some major mistake and Hon would get angry, that he would rather evade him. 

And until now, Hon thought that he was nervous just because of the new place, but he realised he was wrong. 

What if he was scared of Hon now, after he nearly crushed his body in a hug? 

Hon got really worried that he messed up and that Xuan doesn’t want to be close to him anymore, that he’s afraid of him. 

„I’m- I’m really sorry if I did anything wrong I-“ Hon apologized, but because it wasn’t really his fault, Xuan shook his head. 

He now felt bad that Hon thought that he did something wrong! 

„It’s not your fault, really! Please, don’t blame yourself...“ Xuan said and looked at the floor. 

„Then, what is it?“ 

„I- Uh- Ar-aren’t we supposed to be leaving soon? I think we should go...“ Xuan tried to change the subject, but Hon didn’t let him. 

„We still have some time. Tell me, what’s wrong?“

„N-Nothing...“

„I can see that something’s wrong. I thought that it’s the change of scenery, but... Is it me? Are you afraid of me?“

Xuan’s heart dropped. He didn’t know Hon that well, but he would never be afraid of him! Not after everything they went through in such a short amount of time... 

„Of course not! I could never...“

„Then, what is it?“

„I- I don’t...“

„Please, talk to me. I can’t take seeing you like this anymore!“ Hon took one step closer to him.

Xuan took in a deep and shaky breath and hugged his own body. 

„It’s just that... You’re doing so much for me and I... I just don’t think I’m worthy of all of that...“

„What?“

„You’re the demon king and I’m just some random human... You don’t have to treat me like that, really. I don’t want to drag you down or-“ He couldn’t finish it because he was embraced with a pair of strong, yet still gentle, arms. 

Xuan was stunned, but, soon, he hugged Hon back and covered his face in his shoulder. 

„And here I thought that you hated me...“ Hon whispered and smiled. 

„You still don’t have to do all of that for me...“

„I wouldn’t be able to go on without meeting you.“ 

Xuan laughed „Yeah, that way of transport of yours would surely kill you one day.“

But Hon didn’t immediately reply, he just hugged him tightly. 

„That way of transportation... It was only an excuse...“

„What do you mean?“

„You know... Maybe I didn’t want to take a break... Maybe I wanted to end it all there...“

Xuan’s eyes widened. „Hon, you-“

„I told you I didn’t need you to save me, but... Truth to be told, I just didn’t want to be saved. I haven‘t realised it until now, but, maybe I really just wanted to die and go rest to the eternal void of darkness...“ 

„I-“ Xuan had no words to say. He never thought that Hon would suddenly confess all of this like that. He wasn’t drunk again, was he? 

„If you want to ask why, I believe I don’t have to say it again?“

„...You really don’t have to...“ Xuan remembered what he heard from the drunk Hon back in the restaurant that day and realised how miserable he was. 

He realised how he hated this immortality... He realised that immortality didn’t mean never dying, because Hon was already dead inside. 

He probably hated his life, and his afterlife even more. Xuan couldn’t even imagine how long 300 years actually is. 

He knew there were some much older demons, but Hon was never the type who would be clinging onto life... 

Everything was so difficult and it got so confusing that Hon had to escape from his kingdom, but he never wanted this kingdom in the first place. 

He didn’t want to absorb the souls of those people, but it just happened by itself somehow. 

He didn’t want to get all this power, but it just somehow found him. 

He never wanted to fight with the previous demon king of Violence and kill him, but it happened without Hon even realising it. 

And Hon never truly realised that he’s the demon king now. 

He just wanted to simply never be born. And right when he was going to actually give up, someone covered that light of the end and brought him back to the darkness of life. 

He was back in this ugly world, but he found someone who needed to be saved by him. He wasn’t alone anymore and finally found someone who made him laugh. He wasn’t able to laugh before. 

And yes, it sounded cliché, but he felt like he finally managed to find that light he heard about everywhere. Maybe he wasn’t directly in love, but having someone who loved him was already enough. 

„You really saved me... Of course I’ll do anything for you. I would regret actually dying now.“ 

Xuan hugged him tightly too and wasn’t planning to leave him anytime soon. 

„And I tried to stab myself right in front of your eyes... I’m sorry. I really didn’t know...“ Xuan said. 

„It’s okay, no one knew. I’m really good at hiding my feelings. I didn’t know either at this point.“

„Yeah, I noticed.“ Xuan said and sniffed. He was trying his best to not start crying, but he still ended up with tears falling down. 

„Don’t cry...“ Hon patted his head and gently kissed his forehead. Then, he backed a bit and wiped out the tears from Xuan’s eyes. 

„Don’t cry for me... I’ve cried enough already...“ Hon smiled and Xuan just nodded, his face still sad. 

„Go to use the bathroom if you need, try to get yourself together and we’ll be leaving soon.“ Hon said and Xuan nodded again. 

He started walking towards the bathroom, when Hon called for him once more: „Also, don’t think about me as of your king, but as of your... Friend.“

Xuan turned around again, this time he smiled and simply nodded. Then he, finally, entered the bathroom. 

He washed his face and looked into the mirror. He suddenly slapped himself and instead of a sad crying face, he put on his usual smile. 

„So, we already saved each other... Gods, please, don’t let there be any more misunderstandings.“ Xuan silently prayed as he walked out. 

When he got back to his room, Hon was already gone. He went to the corridor and started walking towards the throne room. 

Luckily, this palace wasn’t that big and he already memorized the whole way. 

Xuan noticed the statues and paintings for which he still couldn‘t find any time to observe, but decided to ignore it all now. 

When he entered the throne room, he saw Rika and Moka, Rika in a beautiful long dark blue dress, embellished with shiny ornaments that matched Hon’s and Xuan’s.

Moka was wearing a black dress with many ruffles that didn’t match their suits or Rika’s dress at all. 

„What’s up with those dresses of yours?“ Hon asked, but Moka just looked at the floor instead of replying. 

She took her time, but soon enough explained: „Your highness... Yumeno... I was actually invited by Ethan earlier today... I didn’t get to tell you, because you were with that human... But, I can’t go with you.“

Hon didn’t say anything and looked over to Rika, who was just as confused as they were. She tried asking her earlier, but Moka always just shook her head. 

Hon sighed and turned to look at Ortel, who was sitting on his throne again. 

„Ortel, are you coming instead of Moka?“

„Have you ever seen me there?“ Ortel replied lazily with not a slightest intention of moving his body. 

„I’ve heard that your colonel is going to be there too~“ Rika tried to save the situation and it, indeed, worked. 

Ortel let go of his arcade, which fell right on the floor, making a really loud noise. He quickly stood up and said, „Wait for me.“ And ran to his room to get dressed. 

No one actually knew if this colonel was actually going to be there, but, whenever they mentioned him, Ortel immediately reacted every single time.

He and this colonel were really good friends, but they had to part 200 years ago for multiple reasons Ortel kept in secret, so, now every time he got the slightest chance of meeting him, he was on his feet right away. 

None of them really knew many things about Ortel, he was just kind of sticking around, doing nothing. He didn’t get paid and he didn’t care as long as he had a place to stay at. 

He seemed like he already had enough money to buy an entire house, since he has always had all the newest consoles and games, but no one really knew where he got them from. 

Ortel came back soon enough, in a dark blue suit that kinda matched everyone else. They sat into the same car as before, with Moka driving, and began their way to Limbo.