Demon Tamer (1/2) [for everyone]
For: everyone
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: violence. swearing. sex. inter-species relationships.
Word Count: 12.1k
Summary: Baekhyun is human. ("Baekhyun, Baekhyun, Baekhyun," the demon chants. "Isn't it a bit, hmm, hypocritical of you to call me 'demon' when you yourself are just like me?") Baekhyun is human.
Author's Notes: First of all, this is only part one of the entire fic. I'm really sorry I couldn't finish it in time (Actually, I nearly finished it two times previous, and I managed to lose the file once in a gdocs freak out and a second time in a hard drive crash.) I will be sure to link you to the finished fic as soon as it is available! Many thanks to L who word warred and helped me shape this beginning section, and many thanks to B and L who helped me with planning this entire thing. Your prompts were amazing- and I know this isn't the Kuroshitsuji au...it just...happened...like this. I hope you can at least marginally enjoy it anyway! <3
Dull, bored eyes take in the outside world from behind a layer of glass and sheer curtains. Their owner wears a perfectly bored expression, indifference radiating off of him. The door to the room he stands in creaks open, and he can feel the sudden spike in energy. The light in the room seems to bend, the shadows warping with each step the newcomer takes.
"Watcher," the newcomer greets. His tone is taunting and seductive and wholly repulsive yet oh, so desirable. A hand curls around the shoulder of the occupant of the room, its fingernails sharp and lengthening into claws out of the corner of the man's eye.
It's not surprising to him to see the black claws. Tonight is Night Hunt; the flames that are beginning to lick along the curbs of the streets are a testimony to the upcoming horror that is about to befall the world for one night. The streets of Chicago no longer look so bland, a concrete jungle in all their glory, but rather a city waiting to be burned.
"Why are you here, demon?" The man asks. His words are phrased like a question, but his voice lacks the intonement of one, doesn't move from the monotone note it slides on. The demon drapes himself over the man, holding out his hands in front of them and flexing his fingers. His black claws glint in the dim streetlamp lights, moonlight, and fire glowing outside.
"Baekhyun, Baekhyun, Baekhyun," the demon chants. "I'm hurt." He steps forward to Baekhyun's side, snatching his upper arm and turning Baekhyun to face him. Baekhyun meets the demon’s mocking stare with carefully expressionless, flat eyes. The demon leans forward.
"Won't you greet me by name?" He teases. He cocks his head to the side and leans in further. The corner of his full lips brush against Baekhyun's mouth, but the man barely flinches, barely moves. The demon's smirk is wide against Baekhyun's cheek.
"You're not deserving," Baekhyun says just as tonelessly as before. "Demon." He adds for emphasis.
The demon laughs anyway. "Why, Byun Baekhyun," he coos, "It’s is a bit, hmm, hypocritical to swear at me like that when you yourself are-" The demon's lips ghost over the shell of Baekhyun's ear.
"Just like me."
Baekhyun's eyes flash; his fingers curl around the demon's wrist before he even realizes Baekhyun has moved.
The demon's eyes open wide in shock, and a moment of absolute stillness passes. The demon doubles over in cruel, mocking laughter. The shadows flicker.
"Oh, Baekhyun," he sneers, "You can fight it, deny it, all you like but the truth of it all is that you are a halfling." The word sears through the air between them, and Baekhyun's expression wavers only slightly towards anger before smoothing out again. He's riled, the fingers curled around the Demon's wrist tensing, his own claws sliding out and sinking into the other's flesh. He doesn't want the demon to know just how bothered he is, but it's enough- the demon has seen.
"Wearing that skin," the demon continues, taunting. "Dressing like that, talking like them, but it's all just a ruse." He lifts one clawed finger and jabs at Baekhyun's heart. "Halfling." A beat. A grin. The fire along the streets flares.
Baekhyun lashes out; his left heel hooks harshly into the back of the demon's knee. He pulls, claws still deep in the other's wrist. The demon falls to his knees. Baekhyun jerks his foot away, setting it firmly back on the ground as his base and planting the other in the crease of the demon's hip. The demon winces harshly, his flaming eyes focused on Baekhyun's blank face.
"I am nothing like you," Baekhyun asserts. The demon smirks then, and he shifts so that Baekhyun's boot is pressed that much harder into the ridge of his stomach and hipbone. He twists his wrist so that blood flows more freely over his arm and the markings there. He stares at Baekhyun with challenge in his eyes and watches as Baekhyun struggles to not enjoy the pain the demon is causing himself.
"You cannot be anything but like me," the demon continues, his voice laced with disbelief at Baekhyun’s claim. “Seeing as you are half of what I am." His eyes are coals that smolder with Hell's flames.
"You've been obnoxious long enough," Baekhyun says, avoiding the topic. The blood on the demon’s arm shimmers. "Leave."
"Oh, but I came here to give you something," the demon says, voice sliding over his words. They ring as if he is pleased with himself. And he probably is: upsetting Baekhyun might have been his entire plan.
"What is it?" Baekhyun says. It's a demand even if he does not show it through his tone. With the hand Baekhyun hasn't buried his claws into, the demon reaches into his pocket and pulls out an envelope. Baekhyun snatches it from him.
"You've been assigned," the demon explains, "Orders from the Lord Tamer. He's decided that your turn to prove yourself has come, Watcher." Baekhyun swallows. The fire outside flares higher, and he can nearly smell the panic beginning to rise from the people in the city. An ache begins to build along his shoulder blades.
"Is that it?" He asks, impatience bleeding through. The demon nods, but his grin is far too bright.
The clock has struck midnight. Night Hunt has begun.
"Does it hurt?" The demon mocks. His voice now echoes with the screams of the humans still trapped outside and his eyes flame with hellfire.
Baekhyun closes his eyes, hiding the way they've begun to burn as well. "It's time for you to leave," he says.
The demon sneers. "You'll have to say my name for that to work." Baekhyun tightens his grip on the demon's wrist and feels satisfaction when he hisses from the pain.
"Open," he says, calling upon his training to become a Tamer: the direct opposite of these demons, one who can breach the gap between the Earthly plane and Hell itself.
The gate opens, the deep red miasma of hell spinning underneath where the demon kneels.
"Eventually," the demon says. "You will see just how much more you are of my people than those humans."
Baekhyun releases the demon's arms, holds out his hand, and lets the demon's blood drip into the gate.
"Demon Prince Kai," he orders. "Leave." The demon, Kai, is swallowed whole by the gate and returned to hell. Baekhyun breathes. The pain in his back is worse now, flaring along the lines of a tattoo he has had since birth, calling him to join in the feast. His mouth feels a little too full as his fangs drop from his gums. He closes the blackout curtains and ignores the noise, grabbing the envelope the tearing it open.
"Yes," he says to the emptiness around him. "It does hurt."
Baekhyun stares down at the plane ticket, tracing out the letters for Seoul, South Korea with a barely concealed sense of panic and excitement. His eyes are dull.
***
The morning comes quicker than Baekhyun expects it to. He wakes with tears tracked down his cheeks, his nails, slightly elongated, dug into the skin of his shoulders as he subconsciously tried to distract himself from the pain. Every Night Hunt, his body is at war itself, but Baekhyun refuses to give in to the sweet call of blood and energy. He refuses to dance among the flames that litter the streets.
He rolls onto his back, slowly stretching his body out from the fetal position. His knees ache in protest, and Baekhyun hisses at the residual ache in his back. He takes three slow breaths, waiting for his fangs, heavy in his mouth, to retract, for his lips, dry from being forced open with his fangs out to relax and for his gums to calm in their swelling.
It's nearly an hour before Baekhyun moves again, but the hands on his clock point towards a quarter past seven in the morning. Baekhyun blinks blearily, his vision fading in and out of that space between consciousness and truly waking. For a moment, he realizes he's seeing, breathing, tasting the energies in the room around him, and then he blinks and it's gone. The pain recedes. Baekhyun rises.
His room in the Watchers' quarters is one of the few single rooms in the entire complex, and Baekhyun constantly feels the loneliness acutely. It's a protective measure for both himself and the other Watchers. Baekhyun, his body torn between two worlds, is never sure how the presence of another will affect his demon side.
There’s a loud knock on the door. Baekhyun finishes zipping up his Watcher uniform, leaning his head back so the zip doesn’t catch on his skin.
“Who is it?” he calls out, cracking his neck and stretching out his shoulders. His voice is rough, but he doesn’t cough to clear it. The gruff quality grates on his own ears, but at least it keeps his emotions low and in check. In his experience, the lighter his voice is the more expressive it becomes. Keeping a tight grip on matters of the heart is the first way to keep a handle on his demon half. At least, that’s what Baekhyun was taught, and so far it has worked well for him.
Though he is still uncertain exactly how that was discovered. He is the first halfling ever, the first mix of human love and satanic instinct, and no one will ever let him forget it.
“Lord Tamer sent me, halfling,” the low voice of a demon Prince, one of the Lord Tamer’s own, rings through the heavy wood of the door. Baekhyun nods, resigning himself to the presence of another leader of a demon court.
“Come, Chanyeol,” he says blandly back in the direction of his door. “You may enter.” It’s a formality, verbally granting the demon prince entrance. Without Chanyeol’s blood on his fingers, Baekhyun is powerless over him. In the hierarchy of demons, Chanyeol is as the top with a court of his own and legions of demons under his control.
The door creaks open, and Chanyeol, tall, the sharp point to his ears exaggerated beyond what most demons' look like, enters. His eyes are blazing, and the deep cadence of his voice holds an otherworldly echo the same way Kai's does. It sends a shiver down Baekhyun's spine, but it's not unpleasant.
"The Lord Tamer sends me," Chanyeol repeats, his voice now clear without the hindrance of the door. Baekhyun turns to face him, keeping his head down. There is something about the fire in Chanyeol's eyes that calls to him more than the other demons. Even Demon Prince Kai, though he holds the same status as a prince of a demon court, does not cause Baekhyun's instincts to flare up the way Chanyeol's presence does.
"So you said," Baekhyun murmurs, voice even. He doesn't ask what Lord Tamer has sent Chanyeol for nor does he make any indication that he cares to know. Directly after a Night Hunt and in Chanyeol's presence, his body is thrumming a little too much with fear and need. His gums ache the slightest bit, a sign that his fangs are threatening to drop again. Baekhyun clenches his jaw.
"A gift," Chanyeol announces, holding out the parcel in his hand. He leans close to Baekhyun, stepping up in front of him, his chin and mouth ghosting over Baekhyun's hair. He feels hot and powerful, and Baekhyun knows Night Hunt went well for him, that his court fed well on the souls of humans caught in their claws and torn away from the earth plane. Baekhyun holds his breath so as not to taste the fear of humans long gone on Chanyeol's skin and so as not to feel the urge to lean in and sink his fangs into the skin of Chanyeol's neck to taste the residue of their souls.
"From Lord Tamer," Chanyeol murmurs, voice harsh against the shell of Baekhyun's ear. "You were hungry," he adds. Baekhyun bristles, and clamps down on the urge to lash out.
"Give it to me then," he orders without power. He feels unsafe, body wracked by the presence of a demon and the need to pledge loyalty to him and his human side wanting to feel his blood on his fingertips and control him.
Chanyeol's fingers close around Baekhyun's wrist, his sharp nails scraping in warning over the skin. Turning Baekhyun's palm upright, he sets a loose square of what feels like fabric, and Baekhyun berates himself for not paying attention to what the demon was carrying when he walked in or even bothering to look at him.
Giving the advantage by ignoring them, he hears his mentor's words in his head. Is possibly the dumbest thing you could do. You're one of them, Baekhyun, if you let yourself act like one of their demons, then you'll never manage a taming.
"The Lord Tamer wishes you luck on your trip," Chanyeol says. "He expects you to be successful." Chanyeol straightens, and Baekhyun opens his eyes, suddenly able to breathe without the demon so close to him. He focuses on the package in his hand, looking at the paper sealed by the Lord Tamer's seal.
"May I?" He asks, not waiting for Chanyeol to say yes or no or nod before he's moving towards his bed, setting the package down lightly. He feels more human with more space between himself and the demon prince.
With careful fingers, he slides a nail underneath the wax and pulls the the paper apart. Folded neatly beneath the wrapping is a set of clothes that has Baekhyun's pulse racing just a little too quickly in anticipation.
"Your uniform," Chanyeol says, and Baekhyun wants to break out in a grin or to snap 'I know' at the Prince, but he does neither. He simply unfolds the jacket and coat, and tries on the flexible leather of the fingerless gloves. Though not the most practical of protective gear, skin to blood contact is the only way a blood exchange can be completed. Such a show of skin is a staple to the costumes worn by tamers and watchers alike. Baekhyun wonders just what exactly the Lord Tamer means by giving him this.
"The crest?" Baekhyun asks, holding out his hand expectantly. Chanyeol shakes his head, and the jewelry pressed into his ears clanks together.
"To be granted upon your return with new markings upon your arm," the demon answers. "That's really your only option."
"What."
Chanyeol hums, the rich tone ringing with foreboding. "You being here is a risk for Lord Tamer to take. He never knows when you'll just disappear during Night Hunt, when you will simply dive after a banished demon and follow him down to Hell." Baekhyun says nothing. It's the reason he keeps himself locked inside on Night Hunt instead of going out to fulfill his duties as a watcher. The Lord Tamer's fear is legitimate, and not something Baekhyun has any words of refute for.
"You've always been on a clock, Watcher," Chanyeol murmurs, words casual and tone anything but. "You've always been a question for Lord Tamer. He gave you twenty one years. Either become a Tamer or be put down for the sake of the community." He grins. Baekhyun doesn't bother to point out that Watchers have until their twenty first birthday to Tame their first Demon. Chanyeol is baiting him, and Baekhyun refuses to react. He'll be in trouble with the Lord Tamer and his mentor if he does lash out.
"You could always join my court," Chanyeol offers. "Hell will like you." Baekhyun turns and meets Chanyeol's blazing eyes, keeping his own carefully blank.
"That's everything you had to do here?" Baekhyun states more than asks, gesturing towards the gift now laid out on his rumpled sheets. The corner of Chanyeol's mouth twitches up, and the wicked glint of his angled canine tooth draws Baekhyun's eyes.
"You can't make me leave, halfling," Chanyeol whispers even as he turns back towards Baekhyun's door. "You can't make me do anything." He not facing Baekhyun anymore; the air around the demon shimmers with heat that Baekhyun can feel even this far from him. His voice echoes in Baekhyun's chest.
"You're more us than you are them," he says. Baekhyun can practically hear the wicked grin on his face. "Halfling." Baekhyun clenches his fists, and Chanyeol sweeps his way out of the room, pausing with the door wide open.
"That's why you only have two options," Chanyeol says. "Tame or be killed."
The door slams. Baekhyun exhales. He's never wanted to tame a low-level demon because they're ugly and unintelligent, but taming a mid-level would open up the possibility of letting too much demon blood into his system. That’s the point of the blood exchange- that’s how tamers can break open the gates on nights other than those of Night Hunt. Using their own blood now combined with the demon on whom they’ve performed the blood exchange, the demons presence on either plane is purely up to the jurisdiction of the tamer.
He stares down at the Taming uniform. It's a gamble, but Baekhyun isn't ready to die; he's ready to prove to them all that he's more human than they've ever let him believe.
***
Baekhyun catches himself staring at the ticket to Incheon too often, tracing his fingers carefully over the characters of his name. He hasn’t been to Seoul in a very long time, having been brought to the organization directly after his birth. He wonders if the perfect demon will be arriving on the earth plane while he’s there. He figures one must be or else Lord Tamer wouldn’t be sending him halfway around the world.
He flexes a fist a few times, watches his nails grow out slightly, the tips appearing black as they stretch out into claws before he breathes and they draw back under his skin, sinking into regular human nails. His energy right now is excessive, and the skin on his back burns where the markings of his half-demon heritage reside.
He needs to move, to do something, anything that will keep him from baring his teeth at the next person who says hello to him. He doesn't need to let his energy spike around. He can't be allowed to lose any sort of control when he's this close to being sent on actual Watcher duty.
There are rare enough opportunities for Watchers to be sent out on Night Hunt to face the demons and to possibly tame one of their own, but most Watchers begin receiving chances to test their skills and control over demon blood by the time they've turned sixteen. At twenty, Baekhyun has yet to have such a chance, telling himself that he prefers to stay locked up inside his room with the curtains drawn, pretending he can't feel the raging of the fire on the streets and the rise in spirit as human soul are taken to hell for demons to feast upon.
He tells himself repeatedly that he's human before he's demon. The burning on his back right now seems to argue with him, and with a hiss he grabs his sweatshirt and heads out the door of his room, slamming it closed behind him. The rattling of the metal hinges is more satisfying than it should be, and Baekhyun forces his face blank again, making a beeline for the gym. He needs to run; he needs to hit something. He needs to distract himself from the thoughts about what he might find in Seoul that are plaguing his mind.
The faint buzzing assaulting Baekhyun's ears becomes less of his own thoughts and more of the distinct sounds of gym equipment in use the closer he gets to the gym. It sounds horrendously busy, but Baekhyun has a sneaking suspicion that at this hour, past midnight a few days away from Night Hunt, there is only one person in the gym. Two technically, if he counts the demon that he can feel, its energy creeping up his throat and drawing him in.
Human, he reminds himself and steps inside the doors to the training area.
"Still too slow, Jiminnie!" Crows a voice that's far too rough for the sweet face that it belongs to, but Baekhyun has known Taehyung for years. He's unafraid of everything, his unbonded arm marked up with the tattoos of his tribe, and his messy hair constantly falling in his eyes because he's too lazy to trim it. (That, and the last time he tried, he cut off a large chunk that he hadn't intended to, and he'd looked more ridiculous than Baekhyun can safely express.)
Taehyung is in the center ring of the organization's gym, his skin shimmering in the harsh lighting with the sweat coating him. The demon across from him is whipping his tail around him in annoyance, his fangs poking at his lower lips as he snarls.
"Fucking brat," the demon, Jimin, snaps, and he lunges forward, nails fully lengthened and hardened into claws. Taehyung steps smoothly to the side, hitching his knee up, and Baekhyun’s own stomach aches with sympathy for the pain Jimin must be feeling. Jimin drops heavily to the ground, and Taehyung laughs. He sounds actually delighted, but Baekhyun can see the tension still sitting, ready to be released, in the muscles on Jimin’s arms.
“Can’t ever beat me,” Taehyung is teasing. “I’m your Tamer-fuck!” Jimin lashes out with his leg, his shin colliding hard with the backs of Taehyung’s knees, and Taehyung drops forward, momentum to roll with the blow stopped by Jimin pressing down hard on his calves. The demon hauls himself up, straddling the backs of Taehyung’s thighs, and Baekhyun watches the Tamer pull his thighs in hard and twist before his demon can settle fully on top of him. Taehyung grabs Jimin’s wrists, pressing his thumbs hard into the demon’s palms and keeping his claws far from the backs of his hands.
Baekhyun’s own fingertips throb with the excitement of the fight, his claws sitting just under his skin and pricking the nerves there.
Jimin stops struggling suddenly, turning his head sharply and diving out of Taehyung’s grip to stand in front of his tamer, keeping him shielded with his body. Baekhyun stares, unimpressed at him.
“Jiminnie, what are you- Baekhyunnie!” Taehyung practically launches himself over Jimin, skittering to a halt in front of Baekhyun and breathing hard.
“My bestest pal,” Taehyung cries, pressing the back of his hand to his forehead. “How long has it been since you last graced me with your presence, princeling?” Baekhyun’s lip twitches, caught between smiling and growling at his self-proclaimed best friend. He’s grateful for Taehyung who treats him like he’s nothing abnormal, like he’s just Baekhyun. Baekhyun would almost dare to say Taehyung treats him like he’s human, except that Taehyung has this theory that Baekhyun is the son of a demon prince, and the nickname of ‘princeling’ grew out of that.
“I suppose that’s better than ‘halfling,’” Baekhyun says in monotone. He leans back to avoid the playful punch Taehyung aims at his shoulder.
“Come to spar?” Taehyung asks, and Jimin growls lightly, coming up to drape a protective arm over his Tamer. His upper lip curls back, showing Baekhyun his fangs, and Baekhyun is so tempted to bare his own, but he takes a deep, even breath instead.
“I didn’t,” he murmurs, eyeing Jimin. Despite Taehyung and his friendship, the demon has never liked Baekhyun. Taehyung tells him not to worry about it, that Jimin is simply jealous. Baekhyun has learned it’s best to stuff some sort of snack in Taehyun’s mouth before his friend can launch into a tale of how he punishes Jimin’s jealous behavior.
The bond between Tamer and demon is one that is special to every pair; no blood exchange works exactly the same beyond the physical markings that every Tamer displays. Even the tattoos are special to each demon, every one showing something about the demon which the Tamer has tamed.
Taehyung and Jimin happen to have a very physical relationship, but there is a sense of affection between them as well. It’s something Baekhyun shouldn’t be able to sense, but he blames Taehyung’s heritage as the last surviving member of the demon worshipping tribes for the obvious connection between them that extends beyond the boundaries of their blood exchange.
“Want to anyway?” Taehyung encourages, shrugging Jimin off of him and gesturing back towards the mat.
“Tamer-” Jimin starts, but Taehyung turns sharp eyes on him. Jimin falls silent, looking for all the world like a kicked puppy. Taehyung’s glare turns fond, and he throws his arms around Jimin’s neck, peppering his cheeks with kisses.
“You’re really too cute, Jiminnie,” Taehyung coos. “But you really need to leave Baekhyunnie alone, okay?”
“But-!” Taehyung shuts up Jimin’s complaint with a sharp tug on the demon’s tail, and Jimin yelps. A demon’s tail is ridiculously sensitive, bundles of nerves gathered at its base. Baekhyun is glad to not be in possession of that part of demonic anatomy.
“Hush,” Taehyung chides, combing his fingers through Jimin’s hair. “Go home for a little, okay? I’ll call you back out later.” The Tamer wiggles his eyebrows, and Baekhyun wishes he hadn’t just seen the way Jimin’s eyes light up wickedly. He shoves the discomfort down, the emotion crawling like ants under his skin, desperate to be let out. The markings on his back prick on his skin.
“I don’t trust you alone with the halfling,” Jimin whispers none too quietly, and Baekhyun whirls, catching himself just in time from snarling at the demon.
“Shut up, mid-level,” he whispers in return.
“Or what?” Jimin challenges, and his voice is starting to echo in his throat, an intimidation tactic all demons like to employ. Baekhyun has heard his own voice echo in his throat at the peak of Night Hunt, however, and the attempt goes past him with nothing more than a shrug on his part. “You’ll shut me up?” Jimin taunts. His language has become awfully informal, and Baekhyun thinks Taehyung must really keep him out a lot. Demons need Hell’s miasma to survive, but tamed demons are able to stay on the Earth plane for quite some time depending on the strength of the blood exchange between them and their Tamers.
“No,” Baekhyun says. Jimin starts to grin triumphantly, but it’s premature. “Something like that is too easy and not as all worth my time or energy.” It’s a bluff, but with Taehyung here, Baekhyun is safe from any real damage the demon could do to him.
“You’re asking for it, halfling,” Jimin spits.
“All talk,” Baekhyun returns, his eyes half-lidded. His heart is starting to race, his body preparing for an attack. Jimin lunges, tail whipping behind him, and Baekhyun crosses his arms, blocking him. They crash to the ground, rolling head over heels as they dig claws into each other’s skin. Baekhyun hears warning bells in his head, telling him to not let his demon side out, to contain it, to best Jimin as a Watcher and not as a fellow creature of the underworld.
Jimin plants his knee in Baekhyun’s side, and Baekhyun twists, snagging Jimin’s arms and yanking it hard behind the demon’s back. Jimin yowls, and the heat of hellfire rages on his skin without the presence of the actual flames. He’d have to be a prince to do that.
Baekhyun lets go as the heat sears through his palms, and he kicks hard, driving his foot against Jimin’s sternum. The demon rears back, falling onto his hands and launching himself back up. They meet in the middle, Jimin snarling and hissing and Baekhyung fighting to hold onto his humanity as red tinges his vision.
”Open!” Taehyung yells, and Baekhyun feels a deep pull in his gut, pausing with his hand securely around Jimin’s fist, the tips of his nails digging into the scabbed flesh of his knuckles. Underneath their feet, a gate swirls, and Baekhyun and Jimin both turn to stare at Taehyung.
The Tamer stands with his hand outstretched, blood dripping from the palm of his marked arm, the tattoos that mirror the ones on Jimin’s skin pulsing black as night. Jimin breathes hard, shooting Baekhyun one last unhappy, distrustful look, before he shoves Baekhyun back and allows the Hell portal to rise up around him.
”Return! Taehyung shouts, voice rough, features hardened in careful concentration, and Jimin is swallowed by the gate, slipping from the Earth plane to Hell.
The air in the gym is silent and still except Baekhyun and Taehyung who are both breathing hard, trying to reclaim their composure. Baekhyun closes his eyes and focuses on his image, on the human face he watches in the mirror every morning while he brushes his teeth. He feels the slight ache in his fingers as his claws retract, and he revels in the sense of relief he feels when the overfull feeling in his mouth disappears along with his fangs. The tattoos on his back keep right on burning though, and Baekhyun stubbornly ignores it.
“Are you okay?” he asks Taehyung, and the Tamer pauses in carefully cleaning the sharp knife in his hand with a cloth that he tucks back into his pocket.
“I would have a lot to worry about if I couldn’t handle a simple dismissal, princeling,” Taehyung answers, slipping the knife into its holster on his thigh. It’s a standard issue thing that all Tamers carry. After the blood exchange has been performed, a Tamer’s own blood becomes the method through his he can control his demon.
“Is it normally that- you seem out of sorts,” Baekhyun says delicately. He licks at the blood on his lip from his fang digging in. Taehyung shakes his head.
“He was drawing on our exchange,” Taehyung says, voice a bit bitter. “He’d been on the earth plane for too long. He would have been completely overwhelmed by you in your scuffle otherwise.” Baekhyun stares and allows himself to raise an eyebrow. Jimin is a duke, that much he knows from an accidental slip when Taehyung was drunk once. He’s no ordinary mid-level demon- he’s powerful, his power enough to gain the attention and devotion of a demon prince. Baekhyun, as a halfling doesn’t have anywhere near that kind of power.
“I keep telling you, Baekhyunnie, and one day you’re going to believe it,” Taehyung says. “Your demon parent is a prince. Even my demon believes it.”
“Is that why he hates me?” Baekhyun says doubtfully.
“It’s jealousy, Baekhyunnie,” Taehyung answers with a sigh. “I’ve told you before. Jimin is jealous of you.”
“Over you, of course,” Baekhyun’s voice is mild, slightly detached. Taehyung laughs and gestures towards the sparring mat. Baekhyun makes no sort of agreement except to toe off his shoes and step up behind the Tamer.
“My demon loves me,” Taehyung states with no room to argue. The type of love he’s talking about is debatable, in Baekhyun’s opinion, but that’s not the point. “He doesn’t want me alone with you because he thinks you could be tamed.”
“I’m human-”
“Half-human,” Taehyung interrupts easily. Baekhyun knows his retort was to be expected, after all. “And half of a powerful demon. You’re a wild card, and he’s possessive.” Baekhyun wants to snort, to roll his eyes, to ruffle Taehyung’s hair and tell him his relationship with Jimin is cute even if the demon has him marked in the first three lines of his hit list, but he can’t. He folds his hands in front of him, flexing his toes on the soft mat.
“It seems excessively possessive,” Baekhyun says. “And over the top. We’re just friends.”
“Best friends,” Taehyung corrects, mildly miffed. It’s amusing, really, and Baekhyun doesn’t refuse the title, just refuses to say it for Taehyung’s reactions. “I don’t think it really is over the top. He’s a demon. He doesn’t try to control his emotions. Demons are more in tune with their true nature than humans. Isn’t that why you act all neutral all the time?” That is, in fact, the exact reason Baekhyun doesn’t allow his emotions to show. Even simple things like laughter, or being disgruntled at the First Tamer’s rules and expectations, bring his demon side to the surface, simmering under his skin, and it’s a feeling Baekhyun has come to despise.
He turns and walks to his own corner of the sparring mat, shrugging off his jacket. “Are we sparring?” He calls, changing the subject. He doesn’t like to think about his demonic nature, no matter how accepting of it Taehyung is. But, Taehyung was raised to love demons, so Baekhyun can’t really expect anything else from him.
“Are you ready yet, princeling?” Taehyung calls back, mocking Baekhyun’s tone of voice- bland and dry. “Come on. Hit me.”
“I don’t want to hurt you,” Baekhyun tells Taehyung, showing his clawless hands. Taehyung rolls his eyes, and the corners of his lips quirk up in a devilish smile. In his mouth, Baekhyun’s fangs throb.
“Please, Baekhyunnie,” Taehyung says, and that wicked mischief is back in his eyes. “My demon is a duke. I know exactly what I’m getting into.”
Challenge tastes rich like blood on Baekhyun’s tongue, and takes on deep breath.
“Come at me, bruh,” Taehyung jokes. Baekhyun lunges.
***
Flying from O’Hare International Airport to Incheon International is a hassle. The energy of the people around him is all hurried, parents shouting at their children to put their bags down and hurry through security, business men continuously checking their watches and hoping to catch their flight. Baekhyun breathes thinly through his nose, trying hard to ignore the anxiety that making his fingers twitch and his body start to try to protect itself.
Around the Gatewatcher facilities, Baekhyun knows everyone, knows the energies there, and is, at this point, mostly immune to that brand of hurriedness and desperation. He’s used to feeling the rush and the fear that comes with sparring, and he’s used to the judgement when people stare at him, the word ‘halfling’ a warning, curse, and name on their tongues. Here, no one blinks twice at him for anything other than having a name the security personnel can’t properly pronounce.
By the time he’s seated on his flight, he’s exhausted already. The sudden lack in desperate energies as people are lulled into security, away from demons and away from long lines of security, has Baekhyun feeling empty. His eyes slip closed as the plane races down the runway ramp, and he hopes that his claws stay hidden if something startles him from sleep right before he drifts off, clouds and blue sky welcoming him to dreams.
Behind his eyelids, all he sees is hellfire. It’s not a nightmare, just an uncomfortable familiarity that makes him feel welcomed. Night Hunt is close.
Baekhyun’s arrives in Incheon and is immediately hit by the need to get away from the airport, away from the hussle and bussle of people around him, and he types the hotel’s address into his Gatewatcher issued phone. It’s a times like this when Baekhyun believes there could be a god, but he remembers always a second too late that even if one were to exist, he’d have no place with him. He’s a half-demon.
Baekhyun doesn’t have to do much but flash his Gatewatchers ID to receive his room key, the concierge looking a bit fearful. Not of him, at least, but because the presence of Watchers and Tamers is universally understood to mean Night Hunt is near.
Night Hunt starts in approximately 12 hours, Baekhyun gauges by the prickling of the markings on his back. He’s never been wrong before. He knows, though he refuses to admit it, that his demon side can sense the coming demons better than even the gauges at the Gatewatchers’ headquarters that line the walls of the First Tamer’s office.
Baekhyun’s hotel room is nothing more than a bed, nightstand, desk, TV, and bathroom, but it’s fancier than what he has in his room at the headquarters. It’s pleasing to be away for just a moment. He feels that immediate rush of energy through his body as he enjoys an emotion, and he quickly returns to his carefully constructed human mask.
He drops his suitcase, packed with nothing but a large t-shirt and the gift from the First Tamer. Baekhyun digs that out, spreading the jacket out, fingering the stiff leather of the gloves, and touching his fingertips to the left breast of the jacket where the Gatewatchers crest will be stitched a few days from now. He’s nervous, but he’s also determined.
Stretching out on his stomach on the bed, Baekhyun sighs. He’s not really tired, but Night Hunt is tonight, and Baekhyun needs all the rest he can get if he’s going out when demons roam the streets. He needs to keep a careful hold on his self, both demon and human.
He doesn’t bother to set an alarm, the burning of his markings will be enough to wake him.
Part 2
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: violence. swearing. sex. inter-species relationships.
Word Count: 12.1k
Summary: Baekhyun is human. ("Baekhyun, Baekhyun, Baekhyun," the demon chants. "Isn't it a bit, hmm, hypocritical of you to call me 'demon' when you yourself are just like me?") Baekhyun is human.
Author's Notes: First of all, this is only part one of the entire fic. I'm really sorry I couldn't finish it in time (Actually, I nearly finished it two times previous, and I managed to lose the file once in a gdocs freak out and a second time in a hard drive crash.) I will be sure to link you to the finished fic as soon as it is available! Many thanks to L who word warred and helped me shape this beginning section, and many thanks to B and L who helped me with planning this entire thing. Your prompts were amazing- and I know this isn't the Kuroshitsuji au...it just...happened...like this. I hope you can at least marginally enjoy it anyway! <3
Dull, bored eyes take in the outside world from behind a layer of glass and sheer curtains. Their owner wears a perfectly bored expression, indifference radiating off of him. The door to the room he stands in creaks open, and he can feel the sudden spike in energy. The light in the room seems to bend, the shadows warping with each step the newcomer takes.
"Watcher," the newcomer greets. His tone is taunting and seductive and wholly repulsive yet oh, so desirable. A hand curls around the shoulder of the occupant of the room, its fingernails sharp and lengthening into claws out of the corner of the man's eye.
It's not surprising to him to see the black claws. Tonight is Night Hunt; the flames that are beginning to lick along the curbs of the streets are a testimony to the upcoming horror that is about to befall the world for one night. The streets of Chicago no longer look so bland, a concrete jungle in all their glory, but rather a city waiting to be burned.
"Why are you here, demon?" The man asks. His words are phrased like a question, but his voice lacks the intonement of one, doesn't move from the monotone note it slides on. The demon drapes himself over the man, holding out his hands in front of them and flexing his fingers. His black claws glint in the dim streetlamp lights, moonlight, and fire glowing outside.
"Baekhyun, Baekhyun, Baekhyun," the demon chants. "I'm hurt." He steps forward to Baekhyun's side, snatching his upper arm and turning Baekhyun to face him. Baekhyun meets the demon’s mocking stare with carefully expressionless, flat eyes. The demon leans forward.
"Won't you greet me by name?" He teases. He cocks his head to the side and leans in further. The corner of his full lips brush against Baekhyun's mouth, but the man barely flinches, barely moves. The demon's smirk is wide against Baekhyun's cheek.
"You're not deserving," Baekhyun says just as tonelessly as before. "Demon." He adds for emphasis.
The demon laughs anyway. "Why, Byun Baekhyun," he coos, "It’s is a bit, hmm, hypocritical to swear at me like that when you yourself are-" The demon's lips ghost over the shell of Baekhyun's ear.
"Just like me."
Baekhyun's eyes flash; his fingers curl around the demon's wrist before he even realizes Baekhyun has moved.
The demon's eyes open wide in shock, and a moment of absolute stillness passes. The demon doubles over in cruel, mocking laughter. The shadows flicker.
"Oh, Baekhyun," he sneers, "You can fight it, deny it, all you like but the truth of it all is that you are a halfling." The word sears through the air between them, and Baekhyun's expression wavers only slightly towards anger before smoothing out again. He's riled, the fingers curled around the Demon's wrist tensing, his own claws sliding out and sinking into the other's flesh. He doesn't want the demon to know just how bothered he is, but it's enough- the demon has seen.
"Wearing that skin," the demon continues, taunting. "Dressing like that, talking like them, but it's all just a ruse." He lifts one clawed finger and jabs at Baekhyun's heart. "Halfling." A beat. A grin. The fire along the streets flares.
Baekhyun lashes out; his left heel hooks harshly into the back of the demon's knee. He pulls, claws still deep in the other's wrist. The demon falls to his knees. Baekhyun jerks his foot away, setting it firmly back on the ground as his base and planting the other in the crease of the demon's hip. The demon winces harshly, his flaming eyes focused on Baekhyun's blank face.
"I am nothing like you," Baekhyun asserts. The demon smirks then, and he shifts so that Baekhyun's boot is pressed that much harder into the ridge of his stomach and hipbone. He twists his wrist so that blood flows more freely over his arm and the markings there. He stares at Baekhyun with challenge in his eyes and watches as Baekhyun struggles to not enjoy the pain the demon is causing himself.
"You cannot be anything but like me," the demon continues, his voice laced with disbelief at Baekhyun’s claim. “Seeing as you are half of what I am." His eyes are coals that smolder with Hell's flames.
"You've been obnoxious long enough," Baekhyun says, avoiding the topic. The blood on the demon’s arm shimmers. "Leave."
"Oh, but I came here to give you something," the demon says, voice sliding over his words. They ring as if he is pleased with himself. And he probably is: upsetting Baekhyun might have been his entire plan.
"What is it?" Baekhyun says. It's a demand even if he does not show it through his tone. With the hand Baekhyun hasn't buried his claws into, the demon reaches into his pocket and pulls out an envelope. Baekhyun snatches it from him.
"You've been assigned," the demon explains, "Orders from the Lord Tamer. He's decided that your turn to prove yourself has come, Watcher." Baekhyun swallows. The fire outside flares higher, and he can nearly smell the panic beginning to rise from the people in the city. An ache begins to build along his shoulder blades.
"Is that it?" He asks, impatience bleeding through. The demon nods, but his grin is far too bright.
The clock has struck midnight. Night Hunt has begun.
"Does it hurt?" The demon mocks. His voice now echoes with the screams of the humans still trapped outside and his eyes flame with hellfire.
Baekhyun closes his eyes, hiding the way they've begun to burn as well. "It's time for you to leave," he says.
The demon sneers. "You'll have to say my name for that to work." Baekhyun tightens his grip on the demon's wrist and feels satisfaction when he hisses from the pain.
"Open," he says, calling upon his training to become a Tamer: the direct opposite of these demons, one who can breach the gap between the Earthly plane and Hell itself.
The gate opens, the deep red miasma of hell spinning underneath where the demon kneels.
"Eventually," the demon says. "You will see just how much more you are of my people than those humans."
Baekhyun releases the demon's arms, holds out his hand, and lets the demon's blood drip into the gate.
"Demon Prince Kai," he orders. "Leave." The demon, Kai, is swallowed whole by the gate and returned to hell. Baekhyun breathes. The pain in his back is worse now, flaring along the lines of a tattoo he has had since birth, calling him to join in the feast. His mouth feels a little too full as his fangs drop from his gums. He closes the blackout curtains and ignores the noise, grabbing the envelope the tearing it open.
"Yes," he says to the emptiness around him. "It does hurt."
Baekhyun stares down at the plane ticket, tracing out the letters for Seoul, South Korea with a barely concealed sense of panic and excitement. His eyes are dull.
***
The morning comes quicker than Baekhyun expects it to. He wakes with tears tracked down his cheeks, his nails, slightly elongated, dug into the skin of his shoulders as he subconsciously tried to distract himself from the pain. Every Night Hunt, his body is at war itself, but Baekhyun refuses to give in to the sweet call of blood and energy. He refuses to dance among the flames that litter the streets.
He rolls onto his back, slowly stretching his body out from the fetal position. His knees ache in protest, and Baekhyun hisses at the residual ache in his back. He takes three slow breaths, waiting for his fangs, heavy in his mouth, to retract, for his lips, dry from being forced open with his fangs out to relax and for his gums to calm in their swelling.
It's nearly an hour before Baekhyun moves again, but the hands on his clock point towards a quarter past seven in the morning. Baekhyun blinks blearily, his vision fading in and out of that space between consciousness and truly waking. For a moment, he realizes he's seeing, breathing, tasting the energies in the room around him, and then he blinks and it's gone. The pain recedes. Baekhyun rises.
His room in the Watchers' quarters is one of the few single rooms in the entire complex, and Baekhyun constantly feels the loneliness acutely. It's a protective measure for both himself and the other Watchers. Baekhyun, his body torn between two worlds, is never sure how the presence of another will affect his demon side.
There’s a loud knock on the door. Baekhyun finishes zipping up his Watcher uniform, leaning his head back so the zip doesn’t catch on his skin.
“Who is it?” he calls out, cracking his neck and stretching out his shoulders. His voice is rough, but he doesn’t cough to clear it. The gruff quality grates on his own ears, but at least it keeps his emotions low and in check. In his experience, the lighter his voice is the more expressive it becomes. Keeping a tight grip on matters of the heart is the first way to keep a handle on his demon half. At least, that’s what Baekhyun was taught, and so far it has worked well for him.
Though he is still uncertain exactly how that was discovered. He is the first halfling ever, the first mix of human love and satanic instinct, and no one will ever let him forget it.
“Lord Tamer sent me, halfling,” the low voice of a demon Prince, one of the Lord Tamer’s own, rings through the heavy wood of the door. Baekhyun nods, resigning himself to the presence of another leader of a demon court.
“Come, Chanyeol,” he says blandly back in the direction of his door. “You may enter.” It’s a formality, verbally granting the demon prince entrance. Without Chanyeol’s blood on his fingers, Baekhyun is powerless over him. In the hierarchy of demons, Chanyeol is as the top with a court of his own and legions of demons under his control.
The door creaks open, and Chanyeol, tall, the sharp point to his ears exaggerated beyond what most demons' look like, enters. His eyes are blazing, and the deep cadence of his voice holds an otherworldly echo the same way Kai's does. It sends a shiver down Baekhyun's spine, but it's not unpleasant.
"The Lord Tamer sends me," Chanyeol repeats, his voice now clear without the hindrance of the door. Baekhyun turns to face him, keeping his head down. There is something about the fire in Chanyeol's eyes that calls to him more than the other demons. Even Demon Prince Kai, though he holds the same status as a prince of a demon court, does not cause Baekhyun's instincts to flare up the way Chanyeol's presence does.
"So you said," Baekhyun murmurs, voice even. He doesn't ask what Lord Tamer has sent Chanyeol for nor does he make any indication that he cares to know. Directly after a Night Hunt and in Chanyeol's presence, his body is thrumming a little too much with fear and need. His gums ache the slightest bit, a sign that his fangs are threatening to drop again. Baekhyun clenches his jaw.
"A gift," Chanyeol announces, holding out the parcel in his hand. He leans close to Baekhyun, stepping up in front of him, his chin and mouth ghosting over Baekhyun's hair. He feels hot and powerful, and Baekhyun knows Night Hunt went well for him, that his court fed well on the souls of humans caught in their claws and torn away from the earth plane. Baekhyun holds his breath so as not to taste the fear of humans long gone on Chanyeol's skin and so as not to feel the urge to lean in and sink his fangs into the skin of Chanyeol's neck to taste the residue of their souls.
"From Lord Tamer," Chanyeol murmurs, voice harsh against the shell of Baekhyun's ear. "You were hungry," he adds. Baekhyun bristles, and clamps down on the urge to lash out.
"Give it to me then," he orders without power. He feels unsafe, body wracked by the presence of a demon and the need to pledge loyalty to him and his human side wanting to feel his blood on his fingertips and control him.
Chanyeol's fingers close around Baekhyun's wrist, his sharp nails scraping in warning over the skin. Turning Baekhyun's palm upright, he sets a loose square of what feels like fabric, and Baekhyun berates himself for not paying attention to what the demon was carrying when he walked in or even bothering to look at him.
Giving the advantage by ignoring them, he hears his mentor's words in his head. Is possibly the dumbest thing you could do. You're one of them, Baekhyun, if you let yourself act like one of their demons, then you'll never manage a taming.
"The Lord Tamer wishes you luck on your trip," Chanyeol says. "He expects you to be successful." Chanyeol straightens, and Baekhyun opens his eyes, suddenly able to breathe without the demon so close to him. He focuses on the package in his hand, looking at the paper sealed by the Lord Tamer's seal.
"May I?" He asks, not waiting for Chanyeol to say yes or no or nod before he's moving towards his bed, setting the package down lightly. He feels more human with more space between himself and the demon prince.
With careful fingers, he slides a nail underneath the wax and pulls the the paper apart. Folded neatly beneath the wrapping is a set of clothes that has Baekhyun's pulse racing just a little too quickly in anticipation.
"Your uniform," Chanyeol says, and Baekhyun wants to break out in a grin or to snap 'I know' at the Prince, but he does neither. He simply unfolds the jacket and coat, and tries on the flexible leather of the fingerless gloves. Though not the most practical of protective gear, skin to blood contact is the only way a blood exchange can be completed. Such a show of skin is a staple to the costumes worn by tamers and watchers alike. Baekhyun wonders just what exactly the Lord Tamer means by giving him this.
"The crest?" Baekhyun asks, holding out his hand expectantly. Chanyeol shakes his head, and the jewelry pressed into his ears clanks together.
"To be granted upon your return with new markings upon your arm," the demon answers. "That's really your only option."
"What."
Chanyeol hums, the rich tone ringing with foreboding. "You being here is a risk for Lord Tamer to take. He never knows when you'll just disappear during Night Hunt, when you will simply dive after a banished demon and follow him down to Hell." Baekhyun says nothing. It's the reason he keeps himself locked inside on Night Hunt instead of going out to fulfill his duties as a watcher. The Lord Tamer's fear is legitimate, and not something Baekhyun has any words of refute for.
"You've always been on a clock, Watcher," Chanyeol murmurs, words casual and tone anything but. "You've always been a question for Lord Tamer. He gave you twenty one years. Either become a Tamer or be put down for the sake of the community." He grins. Baekhyun doesn't bother to point out that Watchers have until their twenty first birthday to Tame their first Demon. Chanyeol is baiting him, and Baekhyun refuses to react. He'll be in trouble with the Lord Tamer and his mentor if he does lash out.
"You could always join my court," Chanyeol offers. "Hell will like you." Baekhyun turns and meets Chanyeol's blazing eyes, keeping his own carefully blank.
"That's everything you had to do here?" Baekhyun states more than asks, gesturing towards the gift now laid out on his rumpled sheets. The corner of Chanyeol's mouth twitches up, and the wicked glint of his angled canine tooth draws Baekhyun's eyes.
"You can't make me leave, halfling," Chanyeol whispers even as he turns back towards Baekhyun's door. "You can't make me do anything." He not facing Baekhyun anymore; the air around the demon shimmers with heat that Baekhyun can feel even this far from him. His voice echoes in Baekhyun's chest.
"You're more us than you are them," he says. Baekhyun can practically hear the wicked grin on his face. "Halfling." Baekhyun clenches his fists, and Chanyeol sweeps his way out of the room, pausing with the door wide open.
"That's why you only have two options," Chanyeol says. "Tame or be killed."
The door slams. Baekhyun exhales. He's never wanted to tame a low-level demon because they're ugly and unintelligent, but taming a mid-level would open up the possibility of letting too much demon blood into his system. That’s the point of the blood exchange- that’s how tamers can break open the gates on nights other than those of Night Hunt. Using their own blood now combined with the demon on whom they’ve performed the blood exchange, the demons presence on either plane is purely up to the jurisdiction of the tamer.
He stares down at the Taming uniform. It's a gamble, but Baekhyun isn't ready to die; he's ready to prove to them all that he's more human than they've ever let him believe.
***
Baekhyun catches himself staring at the ticket to Incheon too often, tracing his fingers carefully over the characters of his name. He hasn’t been to Seoul in a very long time, having been brought to the organization directly after his birth. He wonders if the perfect demon will be arriving on the earth plane while he’s there. He figures one must be or else Lord Tamer wouldn’t be sending him halfway around the world.
He flexes a fist a few times, watches his nails grow out slightly, the tips appearing black as they stretch out into claws before he breathes and they draw back under his skin, sinking into regular human nails. His energy right now is excessive, and the skin on his back burns where the markings of his half-demon heritage reside.
He needs to move, to do something, anything that will keep him from baring his teeth at the next person who says hello to him. He doesn't need to let his energy spike around. He can't be allowed to lose any sort of control when he's this close to being sent on actual Watcher duty.
There are rare enough opportunities for Watchers to be sent out on Night Hunt to face the demons and to possibly tame one of their own, but most Watchers begin receiving chances to test their skills and control over demon blood by the time they've turned sixteen. At twenty, Baekhyun has yet to have such a chance, telling himself that he prefers to stay locked up inside his room with the curtains drawn, pretending he can't feel the raging of the fire on the streets and the rise in spirit as human soul are taken to hell for demons to feast upon.
He tells himself repeatedly that he's human before he's demon. The burning on his back right now seems to argue with him, and with a hiss he grabs his sweatshirt and heads out the door of his room, slamming it closed behind him. The rattling of the metal hinges is more satisfying than it should be, and Baekhyun forces his face blank again, making a beeline for the gym. He needs to run; he needs to hit something. He needs to distract himself from the thoughts about what he might find in Seoul that are plaguing his mind.
The faint buzzing assaulting Baekhyun's ears becomes less of his own thoughts and more of the distinct sounds of gym equipment in use the closer he gets to the gym. It sounds horrendously busy, but Baekhyun has a sneaking suspicion that at this hour, past midnight a few days away from Night Hunt, there is only one person in the gym. Two technically, if he counts the demon that he can feel, its energy creeping up his throat and drawing him in.
Human, he reminds himself and steps inside the doors to the training area.
"Still too slow, Jiminnie!" Crows a voice that's far too rough for the sweet face that it belongs to, but Baekhyun has known Taehyung for years. He's unafraid of everything, his unbonded arm marked up with the tattoos of his tribe, and his messy hair constantly falling in his eyes because he's too lazy to trim it. (That, and the last time he tried, he cut off a large chunk that he hadn't intended to, and he'd looked more ridiculous than Baekhyun can safely express.)
Taehyung is in the center ring of the organization's gym, his skin shimmering in the harsh lighting with the sweat coating him. The demon across from him is whipping his tail around him in annoyance, his fangs poking at his lower lips as he snarls.
"Fucking brat," the demon, Jimin, snaps, and he lunges forward, nails fully lengthened and hardened into claws. Taehyung steps smoothly to the side, hitching his knee up, and Baekhyun’s own stomach aches with sympathy for the pain Jimin must be feeling. Jimin drops heavily to the ground, and Taehyung laughs. He sounds actually delighted, but Baekhyun can see the tension still sitting, ready to be released, in the muscles on Jimin’s arms.
“Can’t ever beat me,” Taehyung is teasing. “I’m your Tamer-fuck!” Jimin lashes out with his leg, his shin colliding hard with the backs of Taehyung’s knees, and Taehyung drops forward, momentum to roll with the blow stopped by Jimin pressing down hard on his calves. The demon hauls himself up, straddling the backs of Taehyung’s thighs, and Baekhyun watches the Tamer pull his thighs in hard and twist before his demon can settle fully on top of him. Taehyung grabs Jimin’s wrists, pressing his thumbs hard into the demon’s palms and keeping his claws far from the backs of his hands.
Baekhyun’s own fingertips throb with the excitement of the fight, his claws sitting just under his skin and pricking the nerves there.
Jimin stops struggling suddenly, turning his head sharply and diving out of Taehyung’s grip to stand in front of his tamer, keeping him shielded with his body. Baekhyun stares, unimpressed at him.
“Jiminnie, what are you- Baekhyunnie!” Taehyung practically launches himself over Jimin, skittering to a halt in front of Baekhyun and breathing hard.
“My bestest pal,” Taehyung cries, pressing the back of his hand to his forehead. “How long has it been since you last graced me with your presence, princeling?” Baekhyun’s lip twitches, caught between smiling and growling at his self-proclaimed best friend. He’s grateful for Taehyung who treats him like he’s nothing abnormal, like he’s just Baekhyun. Baekhyun would almost dare to say Taehyung treats him like he’s human, except that Taehyung has this theory that Baekhyun is the son of a demon prince, and the nickname of ‘princeling’ grew out of that.
“I suppose that’s better than ‘halfling,’” Baekhyun says in monotone. He leans back to avoid the playful punch Taehyung aims at his shoulder.
“Come to spar?” Taehyung asks, and Jimin growls lightly, coming up to drape a protective arm over his Tamer. His upper lip curls back, showing Baekhyun his fangs, and Baekhyun is so tempted to bare his own, but he takes a deep, even breath instead.
“I didn’t,” he murmurs, eyeing Jimin. Despite Taehyung and his friendship, the demon has never liked Baekhyun. Taehyung tells him not to worry about it, that Jimin is simply jealous. Baekhyun has learned it’s best to stuff some sort of snack in Taehyun’s mouth before his friend can launch into a tale of how he punishes Jimin’s jealous behavior.
The bond between Tamer and demon is one that is special to every pair; no blood exchange works exactly the same beyond the physical markings that every Tamer displays. Even the tattoos are special to each demon, every one showing something about the demon which the Tamer has tamed.
Taehyung and Jimin happen to have a very physical relationship, but there is a sense of affection between them as well. It’s something Baekhyun shouldn’t be able to sense, but he blames Taehyung’s heritage as the last surviving member of the demon worshipping tribes for the obvious connection between them that extends beyond the boundaries of their blood exchange.
“Want to anyway?” Taehyung encourages, shrugging Jimin off of him and gesturing back towards the mat.
“Tamer-” Jimin starts, but Taehyung turns sharp eyes on him. Jimin falls silent, looking for all the world like a kicked puppy. Taehyung’s glare turns fond, and he throws his arms around Jimin’s neck, peppering his cheeks with kisses.
“You’re really too cute, Jiminnie,” Taehyung coos. “But you really need to leave Baekhyunnie alone, okay?”
“But-!” Taehyung shuts up Jimin’s complaint with a sharp tug on the demon’s tail, and Jimin yelps. A demon’s tail is ridiculously sensitive, bundles of nerves gathered at its base. Baekhyun is glad to not be in possession of that part of demonic anatomy.
“Hush,” Taehyung chides, combing his fingers through Jimin’s hair. “Go home for a little, okay? I’ll call you back out later.” The Tamer wiggles his eyebrows, and Baekhyun wishes he hadn’t just seen the way Jimin’s eyes light up wickedly. He shoves the discomfort down, the emotion crawling like ants under his skin, desperate to be let out. The markings on his back prick on his skin.
“I don’t trust you alone with the halfling,” Jimin whispers none too quietly, and Baekhyun whirls, catching himself just in time from snarling at the demon.
“Shut up, mid-level,” he whispers in return.
“Or what?” Jimin challenges, and his voice is starting to echo in his throat, an intimidation tactic all demons like to employ. Baekhyun has heard his own voice echo in his throat at the peak of Night Hunt, however, and the attempt goes past him with nothing more than a shrug on his part. “You’ll shut me up?” Jimin taunts. His language has become awfully informal, and Baekhyun thinks Taehyung must really keep him out a lot. Demons need Hell’s miasma to survive, but tamed demons are able to stay on the Earth plane for quite some time depending on the strength of the blood exchange between them and their Tamers.
“No,” Baekhyun says. Jimin starts to grin triumphantly, but it’s premature. “Something like that is too easy and not as all worth my time or energy.” It’s a bluff, but with Taehyung here, Baekhyun is safe from any real damage the demon could do to him.
“You’re asking for it, halfling,” Jimin spits.
“All talk,” Baekhyun returns, his eyes half-lidded. His heart is starting to race, his body preparing for an attack. Jimin lunges, tail whipping behind him, and Baekhyun crosses his arms, blocking him. They crash to the ground, rolling head over heels as they dig claws into each other’s skin. Baekhyun hears warning bells in his head, telling him to not let his demon side out, to contain it, to best Jimin as a Watcher and not as a fellow creature of the underworld.
Jimin plants his knee in Baekhyun’s side, and Baekhyun twists, snagging Jimin’s arms and yanking it hard behind the demon’s back. Jimin yowls, and the heat of hellfire rages on his skin without the presence of the actual flames. He’d have to be a prince to do that.
Baekhyun lets go as the heat sears through his palms, and he kicks hard, driving his foot against Jimin’s sternum. The demon rears back, falling onto his hands and launching himself back up. They meet in the middle, Jimin snarling and hissing and Baekhyung fighting to hold onto his humanity as red tinges his vision.
”Open!” Taehyung yells, and Baekhyun feels a deep pull in his gut, pausing with his hand securely around Jimin’s fist, the tips of his nails digging into the scabbed flesh of his knuckles. Underneath their feet, a gate swirls, and Baekhyun and Jimin both turn to stare at Taehyung.
The Tamer stands with his hand outstretched, blood dripping from the palm of his marked arm, the tattoos that mirror the ones on Jimin’s skin pulsing black as night. Jimin breathes hard, shooting Baekhyun one last unhappy, distrustful look, before he shoves Baekhyun back and allows the Hell portal to rise up around him.
”Return! Taehyung shouts, voice rough, features hardened in careful concentration, and Jimin is swallowed by the gate, slipping from the Earth plane to Hell.
The air in the gym is silent and still except Baekhyun and Taehyung who are both breathing hard, trying to reclaim their composure. Baekhyun closes his eyes and focuses on his image, on the human face he watches in the mirror every morning while he brushes his teeth. He feels the slight ache in his fingers as his claws retract, and he revels in the sense of relief he feels when the overfull feeling in his mouth disappears along with his fangs. The tattoos on his back keep right on burning though, and Baekhyun stubbornly ignores it.
“Are you okay?” he asks Taehyung, and the Tamer pauses in carefully cleaning the sharp knife in his hand with a cloth that he tucks back into his pocket.
“I would have a lot to worry about if I couldn’t handle a simple dismissal, princeling,” Taehyung answers, slipping the knife into its holster on his thigh. It’s a standard issue thing that all Tamers carry. After the blood exchange has been performed, a Tamer’s own blood becomes the method through his he can control his demon.
“Is it normally that- you seem out of sorts,” Baekhyun says delicately. He licks at the blood on his lip from his fang digging in. Taehyung shakes his head.
“He was drawing on our exchange,” Taehyung says, voice a bit bitter. “He’d been on the earth plane for too long. He would have been completely overwhelmed by you in your scuffle otherwise.” Baekhyun stares and allows himself to raise an eyebrow. Jimin is a duke, that much he knows from an accidental slip when Taehyung was drunk once. He’s no ordinary mid-level demon- he’s powerful, his power enough to gain the attention and devotion of a demon prince. Baekhyun, as a halfling doesn’t have anywhere near that kind of power.
“I keep telling you, Baekhyunnie, and one day you’re going to believe it,” Taehyung says. “Your demon parent is a prince. Even my demon believes it.”
“Is that why he hates me?” Baekhyun says doubtfully.
“It’s jealousy, Baekhyunnie,” Taehyung answers with a sigh. “I’ve told you before. Jimin is jealous of you.”
“Over you, of course,” Baekhyun’s voice is mild, slightly detached. Taehyung laughs and gestures towards the sparring mat. Baekhyun makes no sort of agreement except to toe off his shoes and step up behind the Tamer.
“My demon loves me,” Taehyung states with no room to argue. The type of love he’s talking about is debatable, in Baekhyun’s opinion, but that’s not the point. “He doesn’t want me alone with you because he thinks you could be tamed.”
“I’m human-”
“Half-human,” Taehyung interrupts easily. Baekhyun knows his retort was to be expected, after all. “And half of a powerful demon. You’re a wild card, and he’s possessive.” Baekhyun wants to snort, to roll his eyes, to ruffle Taehyung’s hair and tell him his relationship with Jimin is cute even if the demon has him marked in the first three lines of his hit list, but he can’t. He folds his hands in front of him, flexing his toes on the soft mat.
“It seems excessively possessive,” Baekhyun says. “And over the top. We’re just friends.”
“Best friends,” Taehyung corrects, mildly miffed. It’s amusing, really, and Baekhyun doesn’t refuse the title, just refuses to say it for Taehyung’s reactions. “I don’t think it really is over the top. He’s a demon. He doesn’t try to control his emotions. Demons are more in tune with their true nature than humans. Isn’t that why you act all neutral all the time?” That is, in fact, the exact reason Baekhyun doesn’t allow his emotions to show. Even simple things like laughter, or being disgruntled at the First Tamer’s rules and expectations, bring his demon side to the surface, simmering under his skin, and it’s a feeling Baekhyun has come to despise.
He turns and walks to his own corner of the sparring mat, shrugging off his jacket. “Are we sparring?” He calls, changing the subject. He doesn’t like to think about his demonic nature, no matter how accepting of it Taehyung is. But, Taehyung was raised to love demons, so Baekhyun can’t really expect anything else from him.
“Are you ready yet, princeling?” Taehyung calls back, mocking Baekhyun’s tone of voice- bland and dry. “Come on. Hit me.”
“I don’t want to hurt you,” Baekhyun tells Taehyung, showing his clawless hands. Taehyung rolls his eyes, and the corners of his lips quirk up in a devilish smile. In his mouth, Baekhyun’s fangs throb.
“Please, Baekhyunnie,” Taehyung says, and that wicked mischief is back in his eyes. “My demon is a duke. I know exactly what I’m getting into.”
Challenge tastes rich like blood on Baekhyun’s tongue, and takes on deep breath.
“Come at me, bruh,” Taehyung jokes. Baekhyun lunges.
***
Flying from O’Hare International Airport to Incheon International is a hassle. The energy of the people around him is all hurried, parents shouting at their children to put their bags down and hurry through security, business men continuously checking their watches and hoping to catch their flight. Baekhyun breathes thinly through his nose, trying hard to ignore the anxiety that making his fingers twitch and his body start to try to protect itself.
Around the Gatewatcher facilities, Baekhyun knows everyone, knows the energies there, and is, at this point, mostly immune to that brand of hurriedness and desperation. He’s used to feeling the rush and the fear that comes with sparring, and he’s used to the judgement when people stare at him, the word ‘halfling’ a warning, curse, and name on their tongues. Here, no one blinks twice at him for anything other than having a name the security personnel can’t properly pronounce.
By the time he’s seated on his flight, he’s exhausted already. The sudden lack in desperate energies as people are lulled into security, away from demons and away from long lines of security, has Baekhyun feeling empty. His eyes slip closed as the plane races down the runway ramp, and he hopes that his claws stay hidden if something startles him from sleep right before he drifts off, clouds and blue sky welcoming him to dreams.
Behind his eyelids, all he sees is hellfire. It’s not a nightmare, just an uncomfortable familiarity that makes him feel welcomed. Night Hunt is close.
Baekhyun’s arrives in Incheon and is immediately hit by the need to get away from the airport, away from the hussle and bussle of people around him, and he types the hotel’s address into his Gatewatcher issued phone. It’s a times like this when Baekhyun believes there could be a god, but he remembers always a second too late that even if one were to exist, he’d have no place with him. He’s a half-demon.
Baekhyun doesn’t have to do much but flash his Gatewatchers ID to receive his room key, the concierge looking a bit fearful. Not of him, at least, but because the presence of Watchers and Tamers is universally understood to mean Night Hunt is near.
Night Hunt starts in approximately 12 hours, Baekhyun gauges by the prickling of the markings on his back. He’s never been wrong before. He knows, though he refuses to admit it, that his demon side can sense the coming demons better than even the gauges at the Gatewatchers’ headquarters that line the walls of the First Tamer’s office.
Baekhyun’s hotel room is nothing more than a bed, nightstand, desk, TV, and bathroom, but it’s fancier than what he has in his room at the headquarters. It’s pleasing to be away for just a moment. He feels that immediate rush of energy through his body as he enjoys an emotion, and he quickly returns to his carefully constructed human mask.
He drops his suitcase, packed with nothing but a large t-shirt and the gift from the First Tamer. Baekhyun digs that out, spreading the jacket out, fingering the stiff leather of the gloves, and touching his fingertips to the left breast of the jacket where the Gatewatchers crest will be stitched a few days from now. He’s nervous, but he’s also determined.
Stretching out on his stomach on the bed, Baekhyun sighs. He’s not really tired, but Night Hunt is tonight, and Baekhyun needs all the rest he can get if he’s going out when demons roam the streets. He needs to keep a careful hold on his self, both demon and human.
He doesn’t bother to set an alarm, the burning of his markings will be enough to wake him.
Part 2