A Fire Inside

A SideProject by Kyuuketsuki

Anthony drifted between waking and dreaming, pondering everything that had happened in the past

few hours. He had to be the luckiest runaway in the world. Last night started off as absolute crap. His

foster dad decided to try branding him with a hot wire hanger, the sky had decided to unleash damn

near all its fury on him, and when all seemed lost, Kyle - a complete stranger - opened his home to

him. He silently thanked whoever would watch over a half-demon like himself.

He forced himself awake and sat up. A blanket fell from his body, though he was certain he'd not

gotten under the covers on the bed. He examined the blanket, finding it to be a quilt that hadn't been

there the night before. "Kyle must've put this on me."

"Well it sure as hell wasn't me, you mangy bed thief."

Anthony turned sharply toward the foot of the bed where the voice had come from. On the wall

across from there was a dark haired man sitting at a desk with his back turned. The man turned

around. "I had to sleep at my desk." He chuckled.

The man's pallid face was familiar, floating in the dark frame his black hair made. Today the kohl

makeup on his face was applied in a band that went from his left ear, across his eyes and to the other.

His black stained lips were pulled into a wide grin. "Good morning, Anthony Watkins-but-leave-off-

the-Watkins."

"You. You're Drayke, right?" Anthony asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Well, I'm certainly not the tooth fairy." He replied. "That bitch owes me for a mouthful of baby teeth.

Kyle told me everything. You're welcome to my room for as long as you like, kiddo." Drayke got up

from his desk chair and climbed over the footboard of the bed. He crawled up the bed and sat

crouched next to Anthony. The boy noticed his toenails were painted as carefully as his nails.

Before Anthony could say another word, his face was gripped by Drayke's long, bony fingers. The lithe

man tugged at his cheeks and pinched his lips together, then moved to meddle with Anthony's

eyebrows.

"What... the hell... are you doing?" Anthony asked, gritting his teeth from the pain of Drayke's

inspection.

"You have a beautiful face. " The man said, turning Anthony's head from left to right. "Yes, you must

let me paint you."

Anthony shook his head to get free of Drayke's grasp. "Sure, as long as you don't pull my face off

before then. Where's Kyle?"

"He walked to the store to get you some stuff." Drayke replied, checking his hair for split ends. "You

know, toothbrush, soap, pajamas. I'll take you shopping for clothes later."

The boy couldn't believe his ears. These two couldn't possibly be this willing to take such care of a

complete stranger. He held up his hands. "Wait, wait wait."

"What, what what?"

Anthony shook his head. "I appreciate everything you guys are doing for me, believe me, but I'm not

staying long. Just til I can find my dad."

"So?" Drayke pouted. "Relax, kid. Let us take care of you while you're here. Kylie told me what you've

been through and you deserve a break. And it'd be a crime if I let you walk around in the same outfit

more than two days." Anthony opened his mouth but found one of Drayke's long fingers pressed to

his lips. "And furthermore, I personally forbid you to start looking for that daddy of yours until you've

had a couple days to rest. Got it?"

The half-demon thought about protesting, but something about Drayke's fierce amber eyes made him

think better of it. He sighed and nodded. Surely a couple days wouldn't throw him far off his father's

trail. If anything, it'd give him a chance to get to know his new friends.

"Good boy. Now let's get some food."

Before he started cooking, Drayke put his long black hair up in two lopsided pigtails to keep it from the

food and the burners. The thin little man seemed to blur around the kitchen while Anthony sat at the

little table in the center of the room, trying to keep up with him as he darted from the refrigerator to

the cabinets, to the stove, to the pantry. Anthony offered to help, but Drayke declined, saying that

he'd only get in the way.

"I'm the cook here, kiddo." He said, stirring a pot of grits with one hand and scrambling eggs with the

other. "Don't eat anything Kylie makes. He can't cook to save his pretty ass." The man snickered,

leaving the pot and the skillet to get plates.

"So, Kyle told me last night you were out -

"So much fun!" Drayke interrupted, bringing Anthony a plate of food before perching on the counter,

crouched like he was in the bed. "Didn't get into anyone's pants, but that's okay."

"I don't have a problem with it or anything; I'm just curious. How do you-" Anthony began, only to be

cut off again by Drayke."

"Honey, it's not cheating if your mate knows you're doing it, accepts it and does it himself." The man

laughed. "We both have our one night stands from time to time. Sometimes we even bring a guy or

two home to share." He said as if he were just explaining gravity.

"Why do you call each other 'mate'?" Anthony asked. "I've heard furs talking about their mates, but

never humans."

"Hang around us long enough and you'll figure that one out." Drayke snickered. Anthony judged by

that alone that this mysterious little man knew something that he didn't. "Where is that man?" he

asked the clock hanging above the entrance to the living room.

"Why don't you come eat with me?" Anthony asked around a forkful of eggs. "It's really good."

Drayke shook his head as if someone was trying to get him to drink cough syrup. "Draykey not

hungry." He said, reaching down into the drawer just below him. He pulled out a book of matches.

"Well, Draykey not hungry for food exactly."

"What Draykey hungry for?" Anthony asked, mimicking the man's Tarzan-speak with a grin.

"Dick." Drayke said, not bothered in the slightest when the boy choked on his food. "Kylie's been gone

since very early and I didn't get much time with him." He explained, striking one of the matches.

Drayke didn't seem to notice Anthony's micro freak out. The boy gathered himself. He saw this as a

choice to be made. He could either show discomfort and be treated like a child by these humans or he

could show indifference and be an adult. Anthony cleared his throat.

"Well, why don't you just go out and find someone else?" he asked, eating another bite of his

breakfast. "Kyle won't mind, will he?"

The man chuckled and shook his head, pitching the burnt out match onto the floor before striking

another. "No, he wouldn't, but there are some things I can only get from him."

"Like what?"

Drayke stared up at the coiled light bulb on the ceiling. "Love."

The word triggered a deep silence in their playful banter. Anthony hadn't expected it from this dark,

promiscuous person. When he said it, the weight of the word seemed immense. Drayke sighed and

looked away from the light bulb to Anthony. His black lips still smiled, but instead of mischievous, it

was a dreamy smile; as if he were seeing Kyle wherever he was instead of Anthony across from him.

"Sex with lots of people is lots of fun, don't get me wrong. I've been with furs, dragons, even a griffin

once, but none of them could give me what Kyle has." Drayke shrugged. "A lot of times when I'm with

the others, I'm think about him. I've even left partners mid-fuck to come home to him. Kyle makes me

feel. I just don't get that with the strangers. There's a fire in me that only he can calm."

Anthony looked at his half eaten breakfast. "If you feel that way, why don't you just sleep with Kyle?

Save some trouble."

The man chuckled. "A better question would be 'why do I sleep with strangers'." he said, striking his

fourth match. "The answer could be any of many things. It could be for fun just as easy as it could be

for exercise and both would be accurate as long as I get something out of it. With Kyle it's different. All

I want from him is to be close."

Anthony nodded. "You must be pretty bugged with him not being back yet."

"You've no idea." Drayke chuckled, licking at the burning match to put it out.

About an hour later Kyle returned. Anthony had returned to Drayke's bedroom. The slight man had

remained crouched atop the counter, next to the stove. He was burning the last match from the book.

Drayke looked up from his black toenails and smiled wide. Kyle barely had time to put down the plastic

store bag before Drayke had sprang from the counter and locked his arms around him.

"Those items better be magic, Kylie. You've been gone forever!" Drayke said, resting is head on Kyle's

broad chest.

The man chuckled and patted Drayke on the back. "Sorry. The cashier was staring at me, so I gave him

what he wanted in the bathroom."

"Ooh, was it fun?" Drayke asked, pulling him further into the living room to the couch.

Kyle shook his head and bent to kiss Drayke's black lips. "Not as fun as you." He glanced to the hallway

that led away from the living room. "Is he awake yet?"

Drayke nodded. "He's in my room. The door's closed, so he's probably masturbating." As he spoke,

the black band over his eyes swirled under his skin and disappeared. The darkness reappeared,

streaking across his face a splattering on his right cheek, then on the bridge of his nose and across his

lips.

The larger man bit his lips together and snickered. "You'd better watch yourself, Drayke."

"Kyle, he's not in the room. Why do we have to keep this up when he's not around?" Drayke whined.

"I'm starting to miss hearing my name. My real name."

"I'm sorry, Manya. Just being too careful, I guess." Kyle replied, holding the demon close to him.

"Neirid, why can't we show him what we are? He's half demon, himself." Manya asked. "I mean, you

should be all too happy to reveal yourself, being his daddy and all."

Neirid kissed Manya on the forehead. "I don't want to scare him. Erebus has never seen anything like

us."

"Sweetheart, he is something like us." Manya replied. "I know he's your kid and it's your

choice to make, but not making it is only keeping you from getting to be his daddy. Not to mention

keeping me in this form when I could look so much better." he said, gesturing to his body.

The bigger demon sighed. "You're right."

"What's more, he really wants his dad." Manya said, climbing onto Neirid's lap. He sat with one knee

on either side of the demon and wrapped his arms around his neck. "So, should I go get him?"

Neirid shook his head. "Not now." he chuckled, pressing his lips to Manya's black mouth. "Let him

masturbate in peace." He wiped away one of the faux fluid streaks on his mate's face and they both

laughed as it they all swirled away, becoming a black band across Manya's eyes once more.

"On the subject of your son..." Manya said, glancing toward the hallway and back to Neirid. "Is he off

limits to me?"

Neirid shook his head and laughed. "Well, I'm glad you asked before you tried to screw him!"

"You've no idea how hard it was to wait!" Manya said. "The boy's cute."

Neirid thought for a few moments about Manya's question then shrugged. "I don't think I have a

problem with it. If he doesn't say no, go ahead." Neirid saw something in Manya's eye and quickly

snuffed it out. "You may not manipulate him! Let me clarify; I am giving you the okay to approach my

son however often you want, but if he shoots you down, that's it."

Manya pouted. "Fiiine. It's not like anyone can resist me for long anyway."

Neirid smirked and poked his side. "Horny thing, that dick of yours is going get you into trouble

someday."

"That's fine," Manya replied, climbing over Neirid and the back of the couch and taking care to slowly

drag his groin over the bigger demon's face before landing on the floor, "as long as you're the one

who spanks me." he said with a wink before going back into the kitchen to make Neirid breakfast.