The Oasis.
Welcome.
The Our Demons universe and Demitri belongs to @forthecrownanimation entirely.
This story is a rather fluffy meeting between our ship, (Cloak)-Tyrell and Demitri! Please enjoy and check Mona out for more on her world! ^-^
Word count: 6,758. Long boi.
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Tyrell finds the trek to the Oasis increasingly unpleasant. Since the loss of his wings, he now has to rely on climbing and jumping to progress through the ragged locations of Duat. However, doing so also exhausts him since his upper body strength isn’t impressive and his scars always throb if he strains them. It seems that even now he isn’t pitied.
After navigating through the admittedly safer cave he drops onto the grass with a light thump and staggers on his feet with a grumble as he releases his spear - his prime weapon after the loss of his magic - from his mouth and into his hand. He wanted to come here for some quiet time; he had barely avoided Kyle and in response, his mind was racing.
The Oasis was one of the only thriving areas of Duat besides the Great Lake and emitted a serenity that even he could relax in. There was one single light source located in the cave’s roof which gave a view into the beautiful galactic ceiling that overhung the dimension and cast artificial stars into the pool of water. The water took up quite a portion of the Oasis and provided the main life source for the greenery around it. The grass was green and long with many colourful flowers growing in patches as well as a few bushes, trees, moss and climbing plants spread up the rocky walls. A set of large rocks are piled by one end of the waters, starting to smooth from other demons sitting upon them, and an abundance of lily pads and reed were growing atop the waters. Below the light source was a growing tree whose branches stretched widely with age but still allowing light to pass through the gently swaying leaves.
It smells like flowers, moss, and trees. Ty felt a little more relaxed here. Though the light source was present it was still rather dim so he looked around for any sign of other demons. Luckily he doesn’t seem to find any however having tunnel vision in his right eye did not make seeing very easy - especially in this place.
The scarred demon sits by the water’s edge and sets his spear aside with a troubled sigh. Ty brings his cloak closer around his body and rests his chin on his knees to think.
Everything was too much nowadays. The longer he stayed alive the more enraged Kyle became and the longer he stayed alive the more the scars hurt.
Thinking about everything just jumbled his head into more of a puzzle. There were broken memories like broken shards of glass. Broken horns. Broken eyes. Broken memory. Broken body. Broken. Broken. Broken. He wishes he didn’t have to hide behind the cloak and his hair. He wishes he could remember his human life and his early demon life before Kyle. If he’s honest, he misses his old life. He misses his wings and his eyesight and his ability to laugh and grin like nothing could bother him. He misses Julius so much-
A sudden sound of water moving startles him and knocks him out of his thoughts. He hadn’t noticed another demon who had clearly been here before him and obviously hadn’t noticed him, either. The silhouette rose from the waters after being submerged and wrings out their thick hair, stepping onto the grass with a quiet groan. The figure is male and very tall with a broad stature, a large tail swishes outwards calmly as he stretches with an exhale. He sits himself down by the old tree and settles back in a calm manner as he lets the light breeze dry him off. Ty’s throat had closed up with anxiety.
His mind is then racing with thoughts on strategy or plans but it is hard for him to grasp a clear one since they are buzzing in his skull like bees; he’s allergic to bees. The demon is solitary - he knows that - and going by his demeanour he can tell he’s not immediately dangerous. Weaponless. That doesn’t clear the panic though and Ty decides that he shouldn’t risk a fight with this demon since he’s much larger and he’d have no hope with only a spear to defend himself with. Carefully, he gets up as slowly as he could and grasps his spear tightly with nerves. As long as he reached the exit he would be fine since the figure doesn’t seem to have wings.
As he stands, he looks back at the rather oblivious silhouette still covered by the vast shadows of the cave and hesitates. He isn’t moving. Ty could throw his spear, wound him and run. But what would that do? It would only bring attention to himself and he doesn’t want to start another fight he knows he cannot win. Or lose his spear.
Holding in a scowl, Ty steps backwards but - due to his tunnel vision - does not spot a rock lingering beneath the coarse grass and ends up catching his foot, tumbling onto his back with another thump and a yelp.
Ty curses under his breath as he shuffles back and stares at the silhouette who is now looking in his direction. “Oh, watch yourself, friend,” He calls out with a strange, unwarranted concern in his voice as he stands slowly with a grunt in doing so, “Don’t hit your head..”
As he comes closer Ty scrambles to his feet and points his spear at him as he stands a step from the ray of light poking through the tree branches.
“Back. Away!” He barks with shakiness in his tone. He squints and looks closer in attempts to make out the demon’s face. “I’m warning you!”
The figure doesn’t seem very bothered and steps into the light, causing Ty to take one step back in response. He is top heavy with large, strong muscles and a naturally wide posture as well as a sharp jaw. His skin is pastel pink, which admittedly makes him less scary, and his wine red hair is braided into thick dreadlocks. His gazelle shaped horns are rose red and his ears are short and naturally drooped. His profound chest is hairy and two red gash scars are located on his left shoulder as well as another across his abdomen. The demon is shirtless and wears a pair of jeans torn from the knee with his large tail moving gracefully to keep him balanced. The most prominent thing about him are his eyes. They are vivid pink with warm grey sclera (eye whites) yet they are heavy and tired with dark bags beneath them. His face is kind. Exhausted, but kind.
Handsome.
Ty soon realises that his mouth is moving and he blinks with bewilderment. “H-Huh..?” He stammers.
“I said are you alright..?” He repeats, his voice heavy with an accent. Russian.
“What does it matter to you?!” Tyrell snaps instantly, keeping their eyes locked. He blows a strand of his hair from his eye and pauses for a moment, bewildered by the silence. He breaks it with a huff of exasperation. “If I tell you I’m fine will you back off, stoner?”
The demon lets out a chuckle and tilts his head with a slight smirk as he sets his hands on his hips. “You... don’t talk to people often, do you?”
Admittedly taken aback by how unusually calm he is, Ty frowns. He’s surprised he wasn’t insulted by the name-calling. “Why is that any of your business?!”
“I was just wondering...” The demon shrugs calmly, his tail swishing again as his smile fades, “You..uh- ..how long have you been down here..?”
“A few minutes,” Ty replies coldly as his marigold eyes travel up and down. He observes each part of him and perhaps spends a little too much time looking at his chest. He swallows and hides behind his hair as he prods his spear in his direction again to try and scare him off. “Leave me alone, will ya?!”
The demon lifts his hands in surrender and steps away with a kind smile on his warm face which once again surprises Ty. He sits by the water with a relaxed posture, his hand resting in the grass as he looks back at him. His tail settles into the shallow water, flicking absentmindedly.
For the first time, Tyrell has a shift in his mindset and a pang of guilt hits him in a wave. Seeing his kind face and thinking of his own actions makes his ears burn with embarrassment...the old him wasn’t taught to be rude. Not used to this kind of interaction, his spear lowers and he once again hesitates. The demon is letting him leave. He’s not used to that.
He knows that not every demon is out to kill him but this one is different. So much so that it intrigues him. In response, his brain tries to remind him of Julius to tug him back into solitude but for once he doesn’t listen to it. He’s curious of this strangely peaceful demon who he’s not sure isn’t a stoner due to his eye bags and the herbal scent emitting from him.
There is about half a minute of awkward hesitation where he looks between the pink demon and the exit before sighing, giving up, and coming forwards. Tyrell sits down a few feet away and sets his spear down but doesn’t let go. “S-Sorry...” He mutters just loud enough for him to hear as he prods his finger into the water.
The demon smiles again and looks out at the water, letting the atmosphere be easy and relaxed which does help Ty feel calmer. After a few minutes of accepted quiet, he looks back at Ty. “Demitri...not stoner.” He finally says.
“Tyrell,” He responds as he listens to his name. It’s a fitting name. It’s memorable. Once again, his mind is racing with thoughts. Some of them are positive but most are demanding to know why he is willingly sitting beside a stranger. Through the pressure of his own mind, he blurts out the first thought that is the loudest without much thought. “I like your smile... it’s very calming and ador-” He cuts himself off the moment those messy words leave his lips, trying to mask it as he loudly clears his throat and hides behind the curtain of his chocolate brown hair.
This only makes Demitri smile more at him and chuckle again. “See now, that’s called a compliment...I’d say you’re good at them, in fact,” He remarks, gazing at the waters briefly before his eyes rest on Ty again; observing him, “Let’s see...hmm, I would compliment something about you but...I can’t see your face very well.”
“Shut up, idiot! I didn’t say anything!” Ty exclaims frantically, his face threatening to fluster. The right side of his face - scarred and covered completely by his fringe - is also starting to tint ever so slightly. Before he can control himself, his hand brushes back the loose strands covering the left side of his face and looks at Dem.
The pink demon looks at him quietly for a few seconds, his tired eyes glancing over him and double-taking at the cloak as if he didn’t realise it was there. “I like your hair...” Demitri says, still somehow un-bothered by the insults, “It seems manageable.”
“N-No..” Ty shakes his head and gulps, “I-It tangles and gets caught..”
“Well...hey, it’s better than having hair like mine,” He shrugs, fiddling with a dread that fell loose from the band, “It’s messy when it’s not braided.”
“Yours looks like those strawberry...liquorice things.” Tyrell rests his chin on his knees and pushes back his cloak so he can sit more freely.
“Liquorice...” Again with that kind smile, a soft look in his eyes that makes Ty’s heart beat slightly faster, “I’ve heard of that...never had it.”
“Well, uh...it’s chewy..”
He never thought he would be comparing liquorice to someone’s hair. Demitri, to him, just looks like one huge bunch of candy rather than anything threatening.
Then, to his surprise, Dem looks at the dread as he plays with it and then chews it briefly. He hums thoughtfully. “Huh...yep, I’d say it’s accurate..” He remarks as if he made a discovery.
“Did you just chew on your hair?” Ty asks with a mix of confusion and disbelief in his face.
“I was just testing it..” Demitri shrugs again, sounding as cool as ever.
Nodding slowly, Ty glances into the water again as he starts to quietly braid his long hair to keep his hands busy. His spear is beside him in the grass and he hasn’t touched it; a good sign that he feels relatively safe around him. As he looks back to meet his gaze through the quiet moment he notices that his pink eyes have traced down to his chest in order to catch his Sin. Ty’s brand is uncommon - or at least he thinks it is because he hasn’t seen any other demons with the same one - yet it can still be read. He covers it subconsciously and looks away.
“Manslaughter...” He says quietly, again just loud enough to be heard. Ty looks up at him with anxious eyes and notices that Demitri’s sin is covered by his hair. “What about you..? Lemme guess, yours is some type of murder, you look the type for it.”
“Heh...I don’t know if I should take that as a compliment.” Demitri replies, tilting his head as he sweeps the hair over his shoulder and reveals the brand of a thief.
“Huh...that’s surprising,” He’s full of surprises, isn’t he? “What’cha steal? A girl’s heart?” Ty brings his knees closer to his chest as he picks up his spear and sharpens the head with a small stone.
“Actually...flowers to his heart,” Demitri replies softly, his gaze settling on the waters as his tail gently swishes beneath it, making little whirlpools. Ty stops and looks at him as he smiles to himself.
His heart. His. He doesn’t know why he’s focusing on that - the fact Demitri’s sweetheart is a male. He shouldn’t be. It’s morbid. It’s inconsiderate of him. It’s pointless. He needs to get it out his head immediately but his thoughts just aren’t listening. He can’t do it. He shouldn’t. Not after what happened.
The thought that he might just have a chance- Shut up!
This demon is just someone who’s kind and smiley. Ty needs to stop his mind from leaning towards kindness because it is either fake, forgettable or will end in pain. He’s not anything special and he will forget about him when he leaves. That’s all he is.
“...Romantic,” Ty responds with, keeping his eyes on his weapon. His claw is digging into his palm every time he merely glances in his direction as if he’s trying to punish himself for thinking.
“He thought it was...” He sighs quietly, his eyes cloudy with reminiscence. Another few seconds creep by and Ty notices his smile fade for a moment as he looks into the waters like the nostalgia suddenly turned dark. But then he blinks and looks back up at him with yet another smile. “I bet you do that stuff all the time, I can tell. You really make the demons drop for ya.” That smile widens into a grin and he winks playfully.
Tyrell immediately tenses and averts his gaze again as fast as he can.
“Flowers..? Are you trying to make me fall for you more?” Julius had giggled.
“Nah, they just matched your eyes!”
“You’re such a moron! Alright, here: I love you too, moron!”
“That’s ‘cause they don’t see what I hide!” He snaps suddenly, tossing the rock into the water to release the sudden sense of anger. Ty growls as it plops into the water, discarding his spear beside him and tugging his cloak back round himself which, in doing so, unties the loose braid in his hair. “Idiot!”
“Apologies...I hit a nerve,” He holds up his hand to indicate a truce. His hands are large yet they hold the lines of magic and aren’t worn from weapon handling. He’s one big softie. Demitri’s eyes glance at Ty’s hair and he blinks before speaking genuinely. “Oh, your hair fell out...would you like help with that plait again?”
“I-I mean...you can try...” He’s bewildered all over again so, to try and grasp his pride again, he turns to an insult, “I doubt your hands will be able to do much...” But none the less, he nods.
“Oh, you’ll be surprised what these hands do...” Another wink as he gets up onto his knees and gestures him to come closer. He’s flirting. He’s flirting!
Ty gulps, bowing his head to hide his face as he flips him off but still sits in front of him none the less. “If your hands go anywhere other than my hair my spear is going straight through your neck!”
Demitri makes a cross over his heart with a chuckle. “Promise.”
He then kneels closer and his hands trace through his hair as gentle as can be. Dem wasn’t wrong, his touch is calming and it’s making the scarred demon want to eat his own words. Ty falls completely silent, keeping his eyes down at the water gently lapping in front of them as his face burns as bright as a cherry. Tingles are running down his neck and his body relaxes in response but he still refuses to admit he’s enjoying it. At that moment he realises that he’s touch-starved. Because he is starting to like the feeling of his hair being played with and there isn’t even a speck of tension in the atmosphere. It’s been so long since anyone has touched him without violent intentions, he cannot remember the last time he made contact with someone or been hugged. Demitri is making everything so relaxed and he doesn’t know why but he doesn’t want this moment to end.
“You have nice hair,” Dem mentions as he braids a French plait through Ty’s hair, ties it with a hairband and sets it on his shoulder when he’s finished. “Thank you for letting me assist you.”
Then his hands lift from his hair and Ty gulps, giving an embarrassed nod and inspecting the braid behind the other, still-loose, strands. It is well braided and neat, more so than he could have done on his own. He’s avoiding eye contact like the plague and is already fiddling with his hair as he tries to tackle down the words asking for him to braid it again from being said. As a result, he stammers and scowls with shaky hands. His heart is hammering out his chest. Why is he so charming!?
Now overly-flustered and emotional, Ty shoves him into the water to escape the thousands of emotions that are burning into his chest. Dem falls tiredly into the water with no fight and simply floats on the surface calmly. He looks more confused if anything as if he is realising what is happening. The demon looks at Ty with a perplexed expression as he floats on the water before smiling again.
“If you wanted a swim you could’ve just asked,” He says as he kindly holds out his hand.
“Th-That wasn’t supposed to be for fun, asshole!” He exclaims, now in a panic as his face flusters beyond hiding. He kicks a pebble into the waters, completely humiliated with himself and his own actions. “Stop being charming- I mean - y-you-... I’m gonna drown you..!”
“I think I need to be under the water for that.” He replies simply as if pondering it. His lack of anger towards Ty is too much - it feels like he could do anything to him and he’d just smile and continue to be calm. He’s such a squishy, chilled idiot that it’s infuriating... He thinks.
Wrapping his arms around himself, he gulps. “Umm...” He’s lost for words. His own tail is swishing back and forth as he thinks through everything. Ty needs to calm down, he’s too riled up and it is making him flustered. As he bites the side of his mouth and scratches the back of his neck he takes a deep breath. “S-Shut up...”
Demitri takes the chance to smirk again and stretches out before offering his hand again for Tyrell to take. Subconsciously, he starts to reach out to take it but the memory of Julius strikes his mind and he freezes, quickly retracting it and balling his hands into fists as he looks away.
Not planning on pestering him, Demitri swims deeper into the pool and looks back at him. “Join me when you like.” He says before diving beneath the cool waters. He’s gone for quite a while to the point where Ty grows concerned for him and cautious.
“H-Hey!” He calls out. “You better come back up or I’ll dive down and get you!”
He waits for another moment in case he rises again but there’s no sign of him at all which makes him scowl with worry. Ty removes his cloak from his shoulders and makes the effort of folding it beside his spear before stepping anxiously into the water; shivering from the cold. The scarred demon swims further into the pool, looking and listening for any movements.
Before he can dive down after him there is a sudden blotch of rippling pink and before he knows it Demitri bursts from the waters, breathing heavily and laughing as water deluges Ty who - in terror - strikes him in the shoulder with a holler. “AGH- What the hell?! What’s wrong with you, I could’ve hurt you!” Ty cries.
The pink demon flinches as he splashes back into the waters, shaking out his thick hair and then rubbing the spot where he was hit. He chuckles, still.
“Sorry...my bad, won’t happen again...”
“Just... don’t sneak up on me...” Ty mutters, wading in the waters slowly and ensuring that the right side of his face isn’t shown. He’s already risking a lot by revealing the scars on his torso and the torn remnants of his wings he just prays that Demitri won’t question it. He doesn’t want this soft idiot to be a questioner.
He nods understandably and lets them simmer in the quiet for a moment. “The water is great though!” He then says once the tension lowers, “I like it here..”
“Sure...I guess it is...it’s quiet.”
The scarred demon soon grows tired of wading and paddles over to the rocks, stopping to pick a few water lotus from the lily pads and smell them quietly. Flowers always grow sweeter here. He finds comfort in that, at least.
Leaning over a rock to support himself, Ty starts to pick the petals from the flowers one by one and set them into the waters like little boats battling unexplored oceans. They float peacefully, tinted pink or blue, across the clear waters below. He likes to picture them without a destination - free to travel across the rippling waves with a choice between reaching an unknown place or eventually sinking from the pressure down into the deep unknown below their feet. As he removes the next petal its weaker, velvety surface is torn up the side from his own carelessness and he stares at it for a moment. Then, he plucks it off like the others and yet it still somehow manages to stay intact despite the wound. Upon being set in the water, it drifts forwards as peacefully as the others. But it’s not the same.
Almost out of spite, Ty then reaches over and presses his finger into the damaged petal so the water engulfs it and it sinks below the rippling surface; distorted and warped. It sinks downwards into the darkness, a penny of pink to a speck to nothing. The damaged will never survive in a world without a destination.
Demitri is looking at him.
By now he has seen them - his scars - and his eyes were observing like everyone else would which makes Ty start to close up again. His scars are jagged, disgusting and ugly in harsh pink tones because he had no help, he was left to die and now he’s left with a constant, painful reminder that he’ll never be intact again!
Demitri swims gently through the waters and his presence knocks the intact petals but does not make them capsize. Dem stops beside him and leans back on a rock with a kind smile. “May I ask..?”
No. Don’t ask about them. Please don’t ask about them. Please. His mind is racing again, he doesn’t want to talk about them and he doesn’t know how to. He doesn’t know what thoughts are the correct ones.
“What era are you from?”
Hearing that is like a wave that rushes over him and soaks him in cold relief. Tyrell sighs deeply and glances at him with a shaking hand as he lifts himself up onto the rock and sits down.
“Oh...I can’t remember...” He replies honestly, still sad to speak of it, “I’m really not sure; it’s such a big blur...I can remember bards and wagons and tithings but that’s about it. Pathetic, I know...”
“It’s not pathetic...” Demitri says, tilting his head, “Sometimes I forget things.”
“Heh...so what about you?”
“Oh, I’m young...only a couple hundred years, I think,” Demitri stands up in the water so it wades around his waist, he stretches out his strong arms again as water causes his muscles to glisten. “I’m a bub compared to a lot of others here.”
No wonder he’s a big softie. He’s young, he’s still oblivious to quite a few things that happen down here. It’s adorable. Such a big guy but with such a young age compared to Ty. Though his memory is broken beyond repair he can still grasp the basics of his age. He is pretty sure he is around 1,600 - possibly a little older. It’s strangely cute that Demitri’s age is perhaps an eighth of his.
“Aww..how cute,” He says with a tone of playfulness, raising one shoulder as he leans back on his hand. Then he thinks - usually young demons group up together in order to create strength in numbers. “You part of any groups or clans?”
“No.. I don’t like to be tied down...I let the wind take me where ever, you know?” Dem comes close and leans forwards about a foot away from Ty, who gulps nervously.
“Y-Yeah, I guess...?” He responds questionably before shrugging. “Kinda admirable. Clans just get in the way of everything,” He sneers at the thought of it. “Anyway - you seem like the type who can fend for himself. If you didn’t have all that muscle you’d be more of a marshmallow than anything.” To his own surprise, he laughs and playfully whacks his arm with the back of his hand.
Demitri laughs along with him and grins merrily as his cheeks dust lilac softly. “I’m pretty marshmallow-y anyway,” He prods himself to prove this, “I’ve been told I give great hugs and hey...didn’t know you had such a cute laugh, heh..”
For once, Ty doesn’t kick or punch him in embarrassment but instead bows his head behind his hair to hide the shaky smile playing on his lips.
Demitri sits beside him and continues to smile, his cheeks remain the dusted colour of pastel lavender as his confidence seems to rise. “Now what I don’t understand is why you want to hide that face with hair... sure, it’s amazing hair...” He says as he gently brushes the strand aside so he can see Ty’s face - his hand is lingering. “But that’s an amazing face.”
Immediately Tyrell tenses and chokes up on his words. The thoughts are back, buzzing and stinging his mind with images of the incident. So he looks away quickly and shakes his head. “Yeah yeah, well you wouldn’t like the other half. Now quit with that charm!”
“Can’t. Doesn’t turn off,” He shrugs and looks down at him, “And if its anything like the other half I think I’ll like it.”
“It’s not, you won’t like it and you can fight me over that!” He frowns stubbornly, pulling the strand back over his face.
Demitri stands once again and holds his arms to the side of him as he walks back onto land. “I guess you’re just gonna have to then.” He’s smirking again.
“W-What?”
“You heard me, come on,”
“Excuse me?” Ty stands up on the rocks and leaps onto the grass before folding his arms. “That wasn’t supposed to be taken literally you moron,” None the less, he finds himself agreeing to it and shrugs. “Lemme guess, if you win I gotta show you the other side of my face?”
Dem nods, not losing that kind smile as he rolls his shoulders. “Sure. What if you win?”
Ty retrieves his spear with a neutral expression and checks the sharp point, deciding to leave the cloak so it does not slow him down. He thinks for a moment, his mind overcoming him with curiosity. “If I win - and if it doesn’t make you freak out or whatever - you tell me what made you a demon?”
For a moment, Dem’s eyes fill with emotion and he tilts his head again as he blinks. “Well, that’s not exactly fair...” He cracks his knuckles, “But if you insist...”
“Never mind, never mind,” Ty waves his hand dismissively, not wanting to see him upset, and instead asks jokingly, “How about a kiss?”
“A kiss?” His eyebrows raise and his cheeks go more purple, “Well, that is fairer I suppose,” He shrugs as he cracks his neck and looks forwards. All of a sudden, a pair of wings open from his back with a wingspan no doubt at least four metres in total, “First on his back?”
Why did you suggest that?! His mind yells to itself, What if you do win?! You can’t kiss him, he’s a weirdo!
He nods and frowns at the sight of the large wings. Yet another surprise. “Oh great, you can fly! This is not fair!” Ty flips his spear to the butt end and breaks the ice by running at him.
Before he can land a hit, however, Demitri suddenly dodges sharply; his speed not matching his frame. He lets out a chuckle as his wings shrink back into his back, disappearing. “You’re right, but isn’t this a little unfair, too?” He places his finger on the tip of his spear as he looks into his eyes.
“Ugh - it’s not like I’ll stab you!” Tyrell scoffs and rolls his eyes but obliges and tosses it aside as he rolls his shoulders. “But fine. Happy now?” Before giving him a chance to respond the scarred demon runs at him again, this time swiping his foot under his ankle in attempts to knock him off his feet.
Immediately, Demitri jumps forwards and lands on his hand, using it to swiftly launch himself forwards and back onto his feet behind Ty as his large tail follows through to knock him down. Tyrell notices the blur of pink in the corner of his eye and vaults over the tail with equal amounts of agility as Demitri. He then twists around and grabs the large tail in his hands, tugging it as hard as he can in order to throw him off his feet.
Dem lets out a gasp as he tugged, turning towards him and stumbling closer in bewilderment as he whips his tail away and jumps backwards to prevent Ty from tackling him. When the scarred demon notices Dem’s cheeks flush bright purple he realises what had happened and his own face burns.
“H-Heh...that was new.”
“O-Oh god, that was not intentional!” Ty exclaims, humiliated.
“No, it’s okay... at least now I know.” Demitri shrugs and looks back at him. After a few seconds, he takes advantage of the situation and launches at Ty again to tackle him.
Tyrell takes longer to respond to the attack this time and blinks in surprise when he sees the demon charging at him. They make contact and he latches onto his strong arm, using it as a step to hoist himself up onto Dem’s shoulder and leap across. Suddenly, the pink demon catches his arm and tugs him back so he stumbles and twists his arm against his back to pin him, his breath against Ty’s neck.
It’s not Kyle. Ty tells himself, It’s not Kyle. Calm down.
“You’re not trying very hard...” Dem says. Ty grits his teeth, his breath shaky and his face completely red. His head is jumbled, horribly flustered and embarrassed and at this point, it’s making him uncoordinated.
“W-What the hell am I supposed to do, then!?” He struggles in his grasp before thinking for a solution. When he feels Demitri begin to move to throw him down, he jumps upwards and swings his foot straight into his head. The demon makes a grunt and releases him, staggering and almost falling off his feet but regains it due to his tail.
Ty is breathing heavily as he also stumbles back and has to force his own brain to believe that the person in front of him is not Kyle. He can’t blame Demitri because he didn’t know.
Mad due to his buzzing thoughts and emotions, Ty makes one final lunge at him to end the spar and tackle him with all his strength. Wait- If I win then that means he has to kiss me... He then realises and, because of that image in his head, it knocks him off guard.
Demitri ducks under his grasp and grabs him by his legs effortlessly, causing him to yelp and jolt forwards. Dem looks up into his marigold eyes for a short yet meaningful moment and blinks as if something just sparked within him whilst he starts to move again. A frown furrows on his brow as he makes the motion to slam him down and Ty holds his breath, trying to prepare for the pain in his scars. Yet his entire demeanour changes at that moment and the force abruptly stops. Instead, he holds him and gently places his back on the soft grass.
“Gotcha.” He grins again, the lightness returning to his face.
Ty can only stare at him for the first few seconds, blinking in stunned silence. Why did his eyes shift like that? Did he really pity his scars that much?
“That was not fair!” He stammers eventually, sitting up in a daze, “You’re twice the size of me!” Then he sighs, secretly thankful that Demitri didn’t slam him down because it would’ve no doubt made him shut down on himself from the pain. Still, he smiles and looks up through his hair as he playfully punches him in the shoulder. “Well played.”
“Hey now, you’re the one who suggested it,” Demitri rubs his arm with a chuckle and hands him his cloak, “Now c’mon, pay up.”
“I did not!” Ty huffs dramatically as he clips it around his shoulders and crosses his legs, sitting in front of the kneeling demon. He rolls his eyes, a nervous flutter in his chest as he raises his hand to his fringe. “Ugh...alright. But it's not pretty... wouldn’t be surprised if it scared you off, but here.”
With a deep breath, he tucks his dark fringe behind his drooping ear and reveals the right side of his face. From his right temple to just above his lip and across to his nose had been burned away, leaving raw, ugly pink scarring, tight and shiny. His damaged right eye was slightly stretched out of shape from the damage and left crimson red with a milky white iris. His eyebrow and eyelashes had been burned away, leaving behind nothing but an ugly mess. It made him want to cry.
“There. Happy now..?” He chokes out, looking down at the grass; too ashamed to view his reaction.
“Woah...” Demitri stares, tilting his head and looking deeply into his eyes as he leans closer. “Pretty...”
“P-Pretty..?!” Ty echoes with a stammer, his fists clenching as he sits up straight, “I-It’s not pretty! How the hell can you even think it was pretty!?” He makes the move to punch him square in the face but then stops himself and returns his hand to his lap. Demitri doesn’t even flinch, too absorbed in watching him.
“You’re kidding... I’ve never met anyone with eyes like this...how unique.” He mumbles airily, still leaning ever closer.
Ty is going to cry. He’s such an idiot, he has to be lying to him. He’s just a doped up idiot, this doesn’t mean anything to him. He’s just an idiot. That’s all he is.
“O-Okay...” Ty goes hoarse with emotion and nods, having to clear his throat and gulp before he can notice. There’s a warmth in his chest. It sparked up like a firework and is melting across him as thick as honey.
Demitri smiles, still lost in staring and so close that he’s only a few inches from his face now - completely absorbed.
“Why are you sitting so close..?” His tone is nervous, flustered.
The pink demon blinks as if he’s snapping back into reality and sits back, purple quickly rising across his cheeks and along his nose, glowing in pastel lavender. “O-Oh..apologies, I guess I just got lost...heh.”
“Should’ve got a map, then..” Ty retorts nervously, quickly shaking his fringe back over his eye to Demitri’s disappointment. There’s a moment of silence where they both just glance at each other, thoughts in their own minds that question the unspoken spark. He’s the first one to break the silence. “I...I should probably head off...lack of sleep is getting to me...”
Demitri then looks even more disappointed, his expression drooping. “Aw...really? So soon?” He speaks with a saddened tone as he looks up at him and, for once, his smile doesn’t look genuine. Ty hates it.
“W-Well...I’m tired and I don’t want anyone to kill me when I’m sleeping.” He replies quietly.
“Oh...” Demitri looks down, saddened, and then thinks before looking back up at him, “Then...how about I watch over you?”
“Huh?”
“Yeah! I like, never sleep so I’d be the perfect bodyguard...” He smiles again, looking hopeful.
“I mean...I guess if you want...” The scarred demon responds gingerly, looking at him with slight concern. He doesn’t sleep? That can’t be healthy...I guess it explains the eye bags, at least... “Are you sure not sleeping is healthy? Doing that will mess with your head.”
Demitri gives him an unknowing smile - like there was something Ty didn’t know. “Heh, you worry wart... don’t worry. I haven’t slept in 300 years and counting.”
Why is he proud of that?! Ty questions in his head, That just makes it worse! Why is he smiling like that!? UGH- I hate this idiot!
“Just..look after yourself,” He mutters, standing up and picking up his spear, “Don’t be stupid or anything.”
He does a mock salute and smiles warmly at him as he walks over to the large tree beneath the stars and finds a spot between two large roots which he huddles into. Demitri leaps up onto a low branch above him and smiles down at him as he leans back on the trunk. “Sleep well...”
Tyrell hums in response as he closes his eyes and holds his spear close to his chest out of habit. His eyes grow heavy after only a minute and his thoughts start to drift outwards into a calming ocean. A lake surrounded by pine trees and a range of mountains behind it with him sitting upon a rock looking out at it all but now there’s someone beside him.
Barely aware of what he’s doing because he’s lost in that dream, Ty’s eyes slip open ever so slightly. “If you see a demon with icy skin...” He murmurs, just loud enough to hear, “Please don’t let him find me...” Then he slips asleep, unaware that he ever spoke.
“No one’s touching you whilst I’m here...” Demitri replies a few moments later, looking out onto the Oasis as he watches over him protectively.
.
Howdy! This is rather long.
If you made it to the end then I hope you enjoyed it! This was just a fun little one shot of how Tymitri met that I’ve been doing in my free time to relax from intense studying.
I enjoyed writing this and it’s very cute - a contrast to the Tyan universe lmao.
Big thanks to Mona for always letting me use Demitri without me asking! You can’t blame me, he’s an adorable marshmallow!
Please excuse any mistakes, my brain has been running like jelly for the past week and I’m only like one fifth into exams. Kill me. I shall fix them later, as I always say.
Anyhow, hope you liked these two gays being confused at each other! <3