Work Text:
"What if he truly does like me?" The thought came to Gilbert as a whisper.
"What if...he sticks around because he is in need of company?" There was more hesitation with this suggestion, and after taking a moment to process, Gilbert scowled over his shoulder to catch the owner of the voice moving from side to side, speaking into his ears and gesticulating melodramatically.
"What are you, my conscience? Someone of your kind hardly suits that role."
A toothy grin. "You could think of me as the devil on your shoulder."
"A devil trying to tug at my heartstrings so that I'll warm up to him is kind of ridiculous, don't you think?" Gilbert pointed out.
"As a matter of fact, I think it would be rather funny if I got what I wanted by making you fall for me."
Gilbert groaned. He didn't understand why he, of all priests, needed to be tested like this, nor did he understand why this unholy creature was alway so willing to outright admit his plan. Seduction had failed – or at least, Gilbert told himself it had. He wouldn't dare acknowledge that he had been right on the verge of giving in when Arthur decided to show mercy...for the time being. These days he seemed more adamant about wooing Gilbert, and while Gilbert found it highly bizarre, he supposed it made enough sense. Gaining a priest's love, loyalty, and eventually his body was even bigger and more challenging than his body alone, wasn't it? Still, why was he in particular worth all that effort? Why had Arthur chosen to mess with him specifically?
Gilbert pressed the tip of the broom he'd been sweeping with into Arthur's cheek. "You're going to be wasting a lot of time," he insisted, finding himself curious as to how the demon would refute this.
Arthur shrugged and switched sides again, making himself comfortable with a chin on Gilbert's shoulder. "As flattered as I am that you care oh-so-much about my precious time, I assure you I will leave if I grow bored of you."
The broom met Arthur's face once more and pushed him away. Gilbert pursed his lips. "Then I'll have to be as boring as possible." Easy! He would be rid of the demon and...everything would go back to how it always had been. Quiet. Orderly. Uneventful. Just what he wanted, right?
"Try your best, love," Arthur began, reaching out to cup the priest's cheeks, "but it would be hard to grow bored of–" He stopped, his hands already tossed back at him by Gilbert. A sly smile spread over the demon's features before he queried with feigned ignorance, "Are priests really not allowed to accept any affection?"
Crafty. He sounded just like the snake in Genesis. Gilbert rolled his eyes. "Not when it comes from scheming nuisances like you."
"I resent that."
"Good."
"I don't believe it, though. For the time I've been watching you, you don't seem to accept any affection at all. Not that anyone else offers," Arthur snickered.
Gilbert curled his lip. "Only because there's no one around here I have that kind of relationship with, that's all."
"Implying you have that kind of relationship with a person somewhere else?"
No. He hurriedly changed the subject. "Well, what about you?? Do you demons normally hang all over each other?"
Arthur sniffed in disdain. "Absolutely not. I have no desire to be like that with other demons, either."
"Yet you're like that with me??"
A clawed pair of hands lifted into a shrug. "It irritates you, therefore it amuses me," Arthur gave his simple answer.
"I'm sure you can find plenty of demons that would be irritated by you, too."
The corner of Arthur's mouth twitched downwards. "It doesn't make a difference either way. I'm irritated by them," he emphasised, "so I won't do it."
"Bore you, irritate you..." Gilbert tapped his fingers as he listed possible actions to taken "You're giving me ideas, you know?"
Arthur snorted, unconcerned. "What does it matter? I'd be surprised if you weren't already thinking of ways to get rid of me. Unless..." Here it came. "...you like me?" He leant forward, glowing green eyes now mere centimetres away from Gilbert's.
Gilbert stiffened, then thrust a hand into Arthur's chest, causing him to float backwards. "No. I was thinking of ways, it's just – if you're not careful, you could suggest something I haven't thought of, and that would be very foolish on your part."
"Excuses, excuses," Arthur tutted, lingering in the air. "Of course I'm not going to suggest something I think you could pull off."
"You underestimate me!" Gilbert declared, "but fine, keep it coming."
"No, you underestimate me. But I'll be glad to…keep it coming," Arthur declared with a mischievous expression, his eyes flicking below Gilbert's waist. He purposely twitched his hand, and as expected, the priest stumbled backwards before he could try anything funny.
"Hey, I thought you were going to hold off on that!" Gilbert accused, attempting to regain his balance.
Arthur clasped his hands behind his back all too innocently. "I didn't do anything. Interesting how easy it is to rile you up when you've apparently decided to bore me. Besides, you set yourself up for that bit of teasing."
Gilbert grumbled and smoothed out his cassock. "I wasn't...prepared yet, that's all." How could he turn this around on Arthur to embarrass him? "You know..." he started.
"Hmm?"
"...with the way you seem so attached to me, I can't help wondering if maybe what you said earlier was true. You're in need of company."
Arthur waved a hand dismissively. "I only phrased it in such an exaggerated manner to sound like your innocent, innocent self. If I'm being accurate – in need of good entertainment is more like it."
"I may be innocent, but I'm not naive."
"If that were the case, then you wouldn't consider what I said as possibly being true," came Arthur's defensive answer. "I have no need for your pity, so don't bother. You may as well move on, considering it was a joke and not a legitimate attempt to get you to see me in a different light."
Gilbert pressed on in spite of Arthur's protests. "I don't know, you make it pretty clear that you're not a fan of the other demons, so you use the whole boredom thing as an excuse to be near someone you actually like! You're not used to communicating your personal feelings, are you?" he concluded, folded his hands behind his back. "I bet...bet you're lonely! Poor, poor lonely demon, desperate for a human friend."
The nerve. Was this a new tactic to drive him away? Making absurd claims until he left out of sheer disgust? Arthur grimaced. "I'm going to be ill. Surely you don't believe a word of that nonsense. You don't believe demons are capable of such feelings and you most certainly don't want to feel sorry for one, do you?"
"You seem to think I'm so innocent – maybe I do believe it. Maybe I think such feelings exist even in demons. That doesn't mean I'll feel sorry for you or that you can take advantage of me, oh no, it just means I have something to hold over you! You need me!" Yes, surely using the demon's own pride against him would be helpful.
"Are you mad? I do just fine on my own, thank you very much. What makes you think you're so special?"
"I don't know, maybe because you act like we're friends? Maybe because you seem to have no interest in touching anybody else? Maaaybe the fact you said it was time to try something new when you decided you wanted me to fall for you, implying I'm the first one you wanted spend all the extra time on?'
"I'm just using you!"
"You're that confident in your skills that you have no issue with saying such a thing, huh?"
A delay, and then, "...That's right! That, and you're going to be suspicious of me no matter what. If you're bound to doubt I'm genuine, why not just get that part over with and tell you the truth? Evidently, it's resulted in confusing you even more, which is rather annoying, but if you do mean it then this could work in my favour, technically..." he trailed off, then shook his head and abruptly ordered, "Don't mean it! I'm going to make you fall for me through other means. Means that have little to do with sympathy."
Gilbert fixed him with a questioning look. "How would a demon go about that? With typical shallow methods, like wealth or something?"
"No," Arthur said. "I'm just going to be a frequent presence in your life and make it up as I go. I'll figure out what you like–"
"And pretend to like it too?"
"No, that would be a pain. I'm going to find actual common ground between us, you'll see! Then I'll plot ways to make you happier than you've ever been," Arthur announced gleefully.
That earned the demon a long stare. "Huh. Make me happier than I've ever been? I can't trust that from a demon. Although you're coming off as...strangely genuine," Gilbert remarked, though he doubted Arthur would be able to understand what sort of things would make him happy.
Arthur placed his hands on the priest's shoulders. "Oh, but that's the point, don't you see? How else could I guarantee success? I'm an expert at this."
Gilbert lifted an eyebrow. "You said you'd never done it before."
A haughty sniff. "Yes, but I analyse human behaviour and figure out what works," Arthur claimed. "It's quite interesting, you know."
The priest had no idea how much to believe him on this. He could believe Arthur analysed humans, but how could he be an expert if he had never done this before? It must have been the pride talking again. Speaking of which...
"So, a frequent presence in my life, you say? That does add up with my loneliness theory. Sounds like you really can't go without being near me anymore."
Arthur turned his nose up. "Just because I intend to be around often doesn't mean I can't go without you. I don't need you at all, and you're certainly not the only entertainment in the world, so don't get full of yourself." He pursed his lips. "You know, I thought priests were supposed to be humble, but you have the biggest ego of any priest I've ever met." And with that, he extended his wings and launched himself far into the sky. Gilbert wanted to test him? Fine. Arthur would take his little test and pass with no effort whatsoever. Maybe even make Gilbert miss him.
And then he would come right back and show the cocky little priest he couldn't get rid of a demon so easily.
A clawed wave. "Enjoy your break. Don't get into too much trouble while I'm gone, now!" Arthur called before vanishing with the breeze.
Gilbert released a sigh. That worked, did it? At least it would for a little bit. He contemplated how long it would take Arthur to come back. Hours? Days? Weeks?
He resumed the rest of his sweeping, one of the many chores he'd been attempting to do while distracted by Arthur, and found that even if he'd been somewhat hindered, the chores actually felt like they went by much faster when someone was around to chat with. Ah, but whether or not he had company didn't matter. What mattered was his efficiency! Besides, he could entertain himself just fine. He liked cleaning, he liked seeing a job well done, and he was plenty used to being alone before Arthur showed up. He could readapt.
Having quiet again would be nice.
And the following hours were very quiet.
The days after that were orderly.
And the weeks after that were uneventful.
Just what he wanted.
What he wanted, right?
...
The silence stretched out far too long.
Had life always been this unbearably dull? Where was that stupid demon? Gilbert was going to give him a piece of his mind. But wait – for what? He hadn't done anything recently. At least…not to Gilbert. Not to Gilbert, he hadn't. Maybe to someone else. When Gilbert thought about it, he knew just because Arthur didn't want a lot to do with other demons didn't mean he felt the same about other humans. Maybe he'd found someone more interesting and decided Gilbert wasn't worth it, that their little game didn't matter anymore in the face of whatever new, thrilling challenge he discovered.
Gilbert's face soured. He was a priest! He ought to be the biggest challenge there was.
The audacity of this demon – yes, Gilbert had every right to be cross with him. After all, who could say what mischief Arthur was getting into? Gilbert knew Arthur was safe with him. Ah – safe as in harmless towards other people, that was! Nowhere near a threat, no.
Even if Gilbert did feel the voice of temptation steadily growing louder with every passing day since meeting the demon, it was…it was fine. He'd almost slipped once, but it didn't mean it was going to happen again. Though if it did, better him than someone else. He was already cursed with demonic qualities such as his appearance and left-handedness; it only seemed fair that he'd be cursed with the shadow of a demon, too. Not to mention his job was to protect people. He protected them by occupying Arthur. It was the least he could do to help make up for all the unease he spread.
And maybe he had developed a slight, slight affinity for him, but that was most certainly only due to his compassionate nature. Surely no one could blame him for that. And surely no one could blame him for wishing, for the sake of humankind, that Arthur would stop playing around and return to him.
Another day of constantly checking the sky. Would he show up?
…
Over a month passed before Gilbert at last caught a glimpse of shaggy hair, jet black attire, and bat-like wings rustling the branches of an apple tree. Acidic green eyes watched him from amidst the leaves, and though both were of a similar colour, they stood out much like that of a cat's glowing gaze. What a terrible, terrible being. Gilbert stared expectantly, trying to squash down his delight.
"See?" had been the first thing Arthur said to him. "I don't need you."
Gilbert immediately glowered. Their reunion took far, far longer than expected. He wondered if time passed more quickly for demons. "How romantic you are. I can feel my heart fluttering already."
"They do say absence makes the heart grow fonder," the demon countered. "Did you miss me?"
"No. Rather, I celebrated the peaceful atmosphere."
"I see. We'll do something peaceful together, then," Arthur said casually.
What an odd demon. What an odd demon, indeed...
Arthur hopped down from the tree and produced a small, evidently self-made bouquet. "Look! I severed life for you!"
He severed life for – Gilbert gawked. "You're giving me flowers?" What a way of phrasing it, too...not that Gilbert was really surprised the demon would see his gesture in such an unnecessarily dark way.
"Yes. Humans do it all the time. They find something pretty, so they take it for themselves, and if they find someone else pretty, then they give the pretty thing to the pretty person. I believe my understanding of the act is fairly accurate."
Gilbert wasn't sure whether to reach out and take the bouquet or not. He shouldn't, because this was a demon giving him flowers for the sake of an evil plan – but on the other hand, Arthur appeared quite earnest, which made it harder to be rude. Not to mention that rejecting the flowers could make the demon hostile! Yes! It was safest to accept. It didn't have to mean anything. He could just toss them out later...though they were pretty flowers, and it wouldn't do any good to be wasteful. He might as well put them in a vase and let them live out the rest of the life they had left, if nothing else.
He grabbed them, and after a long period of silence, came to a realisation. "Wait, did you just imply I'm pretty?"
"You are."
Gilbert snorted. "Pick an easier lie to believe, please."
Arthur cocked his head. "What does that mean? You think I have bad taste?"
"How can you think – oh. Ohh, I get it. I'm attractive to a demon because I look like one, is that right?" he accused.
Arthur blinked slowly. "That doesn't make sense. First of all, you make it sound as if demons don't have standards and will go for anyone as long as they're a demon or at least resemble one. We're not all attracted to each other. Two, I have yet to come across a demon that looks like you. Three, don't act so insulted! Even if you did look like a demon, it isn't a bad thing. Demons can be very alluring."
"What, like you?" Gilbert blurted in an impulsive effort to be sarcastic.
Arthur did a double take, his mouth parting in surprise. "Are you admitting to something, Gilbert?"
Gilbert balked. "No! No, I was mocking you! And don't call me Gilbert, we're not close," he insisted.
"Were you? I question that... Also, I happen to think we're very close, love." Arthur moved in for emphasis.
"Yes! I thought – " Gilbert pushed him away, "well, you're so – so arrogant, I figured you consider yourself alluring, which just goes to show how your taste is...well..." Gilbert trailed off, waving a hand for emphasis as he attempted to salvage his justification. Arthur's incessant grinning didn't help matters. How was anyone supposed to focus with a creepy, not-at-all-alluring demon staring at them like that? Perhaps switching topics was a better bet. "Forget it! I don't have to explain myself to you, and no, we are NOT close. You're seeing things that aren't there. Stop it. No calling me weird nicknames like 'love' either."
Arthur saw no need to comment on Gilbert's initial protest. What could he say in reply to a point the man was barely able to explain? Not to mention Arthur had already made his own conclusion, and he was plenty satisfied with it. "I am saddened you feel that way. Looks like I'll have to work even harder! Oh, and I must call you something."
That earned him a huff.
"No. Don't call me at all. Go away."
"And rob you of the opportunity to admire an apparently very alluring demon longer?" he feigned shock, then snorted to himself in his own amusement. "Besides, I just got back. You don't want me gone already, do you?"
Gilbert's face scrunched. Arthur liked when it did that. "All you ever do is tease me."
The demon's first instinct was to deny this, because while he indeed teased Gilbert often, that wasn't all he ever did. For the record, he had picked flowers for Gilbert very sincerely! Although...that wasn't supposed to be the case, was it? As a mere game, anything he did for Gilbert ought to automatically be deemed shallow and insincere – unless perhaps, the sincerity of picking flowers came from taking his game very seriously. Yes, that made sense to him.
"...Are you okay?"
A hand was suddenly being waved in Arthur's face. He blinked. "Oh. Yes." Stating that he was contemplating the validity of Gilbert's accusation would come off in ways he did not want. "I enjoy playing around with you. You're fun to tease." He squeezed Gilbert's shoulders. "Ahh, but it sounds as though you are not satisfied. What shall I do about it, hm?" Arthur leant in again and spoke in a honeyed tone, "Tell me how I can satisfy y–"
He nearly choked as the bouquet was shoved between them.
"Oi!"
"Stupid demon!" Gilbert expressed, keeping his face behind the flowers.
"Oh, come now, humour me! It was an important question. You could've simply answered it, but now that attitude of yours has crumpled the–" Arthur stopped, catching sight of some colour in the albino's features. Ahh, how sweet. He gingerly moved the stems for a better view. It was an opportune moment for teasing, but Arthur refrained. "Fret not, dearest, I'll get you more."
Red eyes flicked to the side. "I don't need a demon going around killing flowers for me."
"You deserve them!"
"Why, because you think I'm pretty?"
Arthur hummed. "That and other things. Consider them a gift for…all your hard work." He gestured to the clean courtyard.
Gilbert fixed him with an incredulous stare. "You want to reward me for keeping the church tidy?"
"No," Arthur said, "I admit I just want an excuse to spoil you." He laughed when Gilbert raised an eyebrow at him. "You seem like you could use it."
"I don't need anything from you." The priest shook his head. "I am meant to be content with the necessities."
"Getting something nice every now and then won't hurt. It's all right to let someone treat you," Arthur insisted. "You'll see. I'll show you. Then you can decide how you feel about it afterwards." The priest may as well try it. He knelt down and uprooted another flower from the ground.
Gilbert frowned. "That belongs to the church."
Arthur held it out to the other. "Are you not part of the church?"
"Yes, but–" A sigh. "If you must get me flowers, get them elsewhere."
Arthur lit up. "So you'll allow it as long as it's not taken from here?"
"Or stolen from anybody else!"
"But you'll allow it."
"Tolerate it," Gilbert corrected.
That brought a grin to the demon's face. "Lovely." He returned the flower to its spot in the ground and covered it with soil. "There, no harm done."
The gesture resulted in a grunt from Gilbert, who then turned around.
"Where are you going?" Arthur asked.
"To put these away," answered Gilbert, holding up the flowers.
Arthur cocked his head. "They're a bit mangled now that they were thrust in my face. I can get you better flowers. See that pretty blue one? There's a whole bunch more on the other side of town. Let me discard those," he offered, extending a hand.
"No," Gilbert said stubbornly, "they're fine. You went through all the trou–..." He cleared his throat, "I mean, I'm not going to let you have shortened their lives for nothing. And who knows where else you'll wander off to if I let you go ahead and replace them so soon."
Gilbert cared about him wandering off? Green eyes gleamed. "You did miss me," Arthur concluded. The reaction on Gilbert's face said everything he needed to know. "You missed me a great deal." He couldn’t resist chuckling upon seeing the man speed up.
"Why would I??"
Arthur hummed, the sound of his voice growing farther away. “I’m good company. And I think you’ll enjoy my company even more if you just confess and let yourself enjoy it.”
“There’s nothing to confess.”
No response. No flap of wings or other telltale sounds of Arthur following him as he usually did. Gilbert swivelled around to find Arthur indeed was not hovering near him the way he had come to expect over time. Did he not plan on sticking around? “Are you coming??” demanded Gilbert, his brows furrowing with impatience.
Arthur remained in place. “Am I supposed to?” he asked innocently.
“That’s your job, isn’t it? To be the devil on my shoulder.”
It wasn't a job. Challenging, yes, but never a job. "More of a passion project, really," Arthur corrected. "I don't see why you'd be encouraging it, though."
"I'm not," Gilbert denied instantly, then faltered. "I'm not. I just think it's better you stick with someone like me who knows how to resist your temptations than to go messing with weaker-willed people."
Arthur shook his head and chortled to himself. “Whatever you say, darling. Shall I come along, then?” He raised two pitch black wings, bathing himself in shadow as he waited for a response.
The priest hesitated, but eventually, a low mutter of a “Yes” could be heard from under his breath.
With Arthur unable to see his face from behind, Gilbert allowed a smile to form for just a moment as he heard Arthur lift off from the ground to join him.