Demon Bound

Sammy looked back over at the clock on their desk. 4:15. Only fifteen more minutes until they were free from work and able to go home to get ready for the night. Their heart sped up at the daunting thought of tonight’s plans. This was really happening. They were going out to dinner with someone. And not just a dinner out with a friend, like they sometimes did with their roommates. This was a date. An actual date. And as great as that sounded, it was terrifying to the enby.

Sammy had not been on an actual date in maybe a year now, even though they only broke up with their ex around eight months ago. He had never really wanted to go on dates that were just the two of them. He had only wanted to go if he could show off to people he knew. Show off his ‘girlfriend’... 

A phone buzzing suddenly made Sammy jump a little in their chair. Looking around their slightly cluttered desk, they searched for their phone. Finding it under a few stacks of forms, they looked at it and found it to be their 4:30 ‘go home’ alarm. Wait, it was already time? But they were just looking at the clock. They still had more time. Had... Had they really spaced out that much on thoughts of him?

Shaking their head, the navy haired human stood up and began to gather their things. There was no point in wasting any more thought on that man. They had a date tonight, and they weren’t going to let the memory of him ruin it.

The trip home wasn’t too long and, thankfully, the weather was decent. Sammy just distracted themselves with a podcast, doing their best to not really get caught up in any thoughts. Before they knew it, they were opening the door to their apartment and found their roommates running around like headless chickens.

“Bro, where’s the charger?”

“I don’t know, man. I don’t keep tract of your dumb ass android charger. Just get an iPhone like the rest of us.”

“Fuck no,” Derek spat back before turning to see Sammy in the door. “Hey, Sammy has an android and none of you say shit.”

“That’s because Sammy knows how to fucking use one. Oh, hey Sammy.” David said with a wave as he packed up a travel case on the kitchen table.

“Hey. Uh, what’s going on?” The enby looked around at their somewhat frantic roommates as they walked over towards their room.

“Jack managed to score us a motel room near the stadium for tonight. Gonna go watch the game and not worry about drinking and trying to get home. Aha! Here it is,” Derek said triumphantly as they found their charger.

“Oh, so you guys are out tonight?”

“Yeah. You’re welcome to come, too,” Jack said coming out of one of the bedrooms.

“I um. I actually have plans tonight.” Sammy opened the door and tried to sneak in before any of the bros could say anything, but alas they weren’t fast enough.

“Got a date with that chick that kissed you?” Derek asked excitedly.

Sammy’s face heated up before they quietly replied, “Maybe.”

“Oh shit! Perfect timing! Won’t have to worry about being quiet since we won’t be here,” Jack teased the shorter enby.

“Oh my fucking gods... No. Not going to be doing that.” Sammy shook their head. “I need to get ready.”

“Alright, but you’ll be missing the perfect opportunity!” David yelled just as Sammy closed their bedroom door.

Taking a deep breath, Sammy went about getting themselves ready for the night. First step, shower! They didn’t really need one just yet, but it was a nice way to kick off getting ready. Next step was clothes. Sammy looked at the two outfits they had laying on their bed. One was a nice pair of pants with a navy-blue blouse that matched their hair. The other outfit was a green dress with a pair of leggings to keep warm. They bit their lip as they stared at the two outfits. They really wanted to wear the blouse, but would Ahti be expecting them to be more feminine? Should they wear the dress? Sammy always wore more feminine clothes on dates with him. That’s what he wanted... But Ahti wasn’t him. Without looking over at the dress again, Sammy grabbed the clothes they wanted to wear and put them on.

~~~

The enby waited outside the restaurant, their eyes constantly glancing down at their phone, checking the time over and over again. They had arrived half an hour before they were meant to, thanks to being too nervous to just sit at home and wait after they had gotten ready. So here they were, too early but waiting eagerly for the jackal to show up.

Was she going to show up though?

Fear gnawed at the short enby’s heart as their thoughts sent them spiraling down an unpleasant rabbit hole. Ahti hadn’t texted back today. Did that mean she wasn’t coming? Has she changed her mind? Sammy was only human after all, not a magical being. Maybe Ahti decided she didn’t want a human. Maybe she thought Sammy was too young for them, seeing as there was a near nine-decade age difference, which was a strange thought already to begin with.

“Oh, you're early.”

Sammy jumped a little at the sound of a voice talking and turned around to find that Ahti had walked right up to them. They didn’t even notice her walking up the street. Had they really spaced out again? Twice in one day. Still, they looked up at the jackal and couldn’t help but blush lightly. Her black coat of fur was beautiful. Her silver top hugged her frame in just the right way to show her curves, without being so tight that it showed everything. Her ears were straight up and pointed directly as the navy haired human, as if giving them her absolute full attention. 

“I, uh. Yeah, I’m a little early. Sorry.”

“Oh, don’t be sorry,” Ahti said with a smile. “I’m a little early too if you haven’t noticed.”

Sammy glanced down at their watch and found that she was early as well. Somehow that made them feel better than if she had just arrived on time. “O—okay.” The enby stuttered lightly. “Should we go inside and get a table them?”

“That would be great.” The pair walked up to the front door, and Ahti grabbed it to hold for Sammy. “How’s the food here? It smells pretty good.” Sammy could see the jackal’s nose sniff the air as they walked in.

“It should be. Or at least it was the last time I was here. But that was a while ago,” Sammy mumbled out that last part. “Hopefully it’ll still be good.”

“Either way, it will be a fun adventure. I don’t often get a chance to come to Earth, let alone eat here.”

“How often do you come?” Sammy asked curiously as they walked up to the hostess at the font.

“Just two?” The woman at the front asked, and both of them nodded. “Alright, you gir—” The hostess stopped herself as she looked at Sammy, obviously confused as to if they said the right thing. “You can both follow me.”

The pair followed their hostess. Sammy uncaring of the little reaction from the woman at their more androgynous presentation. Ahti seemed a little confused by it, which surprised Sammy. Though maybe it shouldn’t have, considering Ahti comes from a world where people like Sammy are common and accepted. A world where people aren’t judged, and it’s just accepted that there are more than just men and women. Taking their seats, the hostess told them a waiter would be right with them and left, leaving the two alone in a nice booth, neither knowing what to say right away.

“You asked how often I come to Earth, right?” Ahti asked.

“Oh, yeah. Do you come here often?”

“Not really. Maybe just once every few years for a delivery to some client, but I never really stay longer than I need to. So, this will be my second time eating on Earth.” The jackal smiled and Sammy was certain they could hear the light thumping of her tail on the booth. “You said, you’ve been here before right?”

Sammy nodded. “I have, but it’s been a while.”

“Anything good on the menu I should be looking out for?”

Before the enby could reply, their waiter came with water and took their drink orders.

“Umm,” Sammy opened the menu looking at it, seeing if they recognized anything good on it. “The alfredo pasta is good. That’s what I normally got when I came here before. Do—do you have pasta in your world?” It might have seemed like a dumb question to ask, but then again Edith had no idea what a hamburger was so...

“We do, though I’ve only seen it at a few places. Never heard of alfredo before, but maybe I’ll give it a try.” Ahit looked down at the menu to find her own dinner, while Sammy stayed pretty set on having the pasta.

The conversation died down between the two. Though they had talked a decent amount through text, it seemed that actually being on a date had both of them nervous and a little quiet. Eventually their drinks came, and they placed their food order. Sammy the alfredo, and Ahti getting a steak dish.

“Do you normally take all your dates here then?” the jackal lightly teased.

“N—no. I’m not really the one to pick where I go on a...” The word got caught in their throat. This really was a date after all wasn’t it? “... date. I usually go where my partner wants to go.”

The jackal nodded before asking, “Do you go on dates often?” There was a little nervousness in her voice.

The enby shook their head. “I haven’t been going on dates for like a year. I haven’t even been looking for one to be honest. What about you?” Sammy tried to steer the question away from themselves.

Ahti took a deep breath, seeming to think about how she should respond. “I have... Not with anyone new, though. My ex and I have tried to go on a few dates for the past two years, but it never ends well.”

Sammy felt their heart clench slightly at the mention of Ahti’s ex. She had mentioned him once or twice in text over the past week, but Sammy never pried into it. Did this mean that Ahti still wanted to get back with their ex? 

“Do you want to get back with him?” Sammy barely registered that they even asked that out loud until Ahti’s eyes suddenly went a little wide. 

“N—no. I don’t want to get back with him, but he does... I guess there is part of me that still likes him,” the jackal spoke more honestly than either of them expected. “But I know we don’t work well together anymore. We just always fight and get hurt. I don’t even know why I still agreed to a few dates after we broke up. Maybe I was just looking to feel normal and comfortable again, but it never worked.”

The enby nodded. They could understand those feelings. Still wanting what you had at the start, not how it finished. They would be lying if they said they didn’t think about the start of their relationship with their ex and miss it. “How long were you together?” It probably wasn’t the most appropriate question, considering they were on a date with each other, and ex talk is never fun.

“We were together for about a decade.”

“Holy shit,” Sammy burst out. A decade?! That’s so long!

The jackal chuckled, clearly picking up on what Sammy was thinking. “A decade might seem long to you, but for us it’s not really that long. It’s more like a year in human time span. It can also tend to move a lot slower than what you might suspect.”

“Really?” The jackal nodded, a little smile returning to their muzzle. “Didn’t Maria and Edith like fuck on the first night?”

“HA!” Ahti couldn’t hold in that little belting laugh. “Oh they did. Yes, they did. But sex is kind of different for us beings than it is with humans. At least as far as I can tell. We aren’t too stingy about needing to wait a while to have sex. What I meant by it moving slower, I meant more of the romance emotional side than the sex side.” Talking about sex always lightens the mood of a conversation. “Still, the first night might be a little fast. Though Edith is the daughter of a nymph and a demon, so...” Ahti couldn’t help but smile now.

“So I guess the term nymphomaniac is rather accurate.”

Ahti laughed while looking at Sammy wide eyed. “What? What the hell is a nymphomaniac?” 

Now it was Sammy’s turn for their eyes to go wide. “You don’t know what nymphomaniac means?”  Ahti shook her head, and Sammy suddenly worried that maybe the word might not be that appropriate for a magical being. “It... um. It means like someone who is addicted to sex,” the enby said quietly.

The jackal couldn’t hold her laughter anymore, and Sammy could now very clearly hear her tail thumping on the booth. For some reason, seeing Ahti genuinely laugh like that made their insides do little flips as their face heated up. It was such a pure reaction and Sammy couldn’t look away.

“Oh gods! Is that really a word here?” Ahti was holding her stomach because of how hard she was laughing. Sammy nodded, only made her giggle even more. “Oh my gods, I need to tell Edith about this later. Her mitéra needs to hear about this.”

“Is it really that funny? Isn’t it a little rude?” the enby was still a little worried but Ahti’s laugh was making them feel better about it. 

“Fuck, it’s probably the most accurate description of a nymph I’ve heard.”

Sammy couldn’t help but smile back at Ahti. Seeing them happy and laughing made them feel really happy and giddy in a way they hadn’t felt in a long time.

~~~

“By Athena, you have no idea how frustrating it can be having to constantly tell people that they just need to turn their fucking monitor on, and that nothing’s broken,” Sammy vented on a subject they easily got heated about.

The jackal chuckled as they walked up the stairs of Sammy’s apartment complex. Apparently in the time Sammy had been out on their date with Ahti, the elevator had broken, which meant they had to walk all the way up to the sixth floor. Which was never pleasant, but it meant that they had more time to be together before Sammy got home. Both of them were happy about that.

“I can’t imagine. Still, Earth has had computers longer than we have, so I would have thought you guys would know how to use them by now.”

“Oh you would think, but nope.” Sammy let out an exhausted breath. “So tech is still fairly new for the other planes?”

“Mostly yeah. Some planes are better with it than others. I know hell is pretty up there on being par with human standards of technology. Fairy seems to hate the stuff though. Maybe it has something to do with all the metals in it, I don’t know. But Celesque is pretty good. Most of the younger generations all have computers and smartphones, and most homes have a home phone.”

“And all the stuff has some magic in it, right?”

“More or less. I won’t pretend to understand any of it. I mean I only got a smartphone three years ago.”

“Wait, really? Only three years ago?” Ahti nodded. “Wow. What kind of phone do you even have?”

“Oh, I’m not sure you have this brand here,” the jackal said, pulling out her phone. It was thin. Like really thin. Thinner than most phones that aren’t at least a grand and a half. Also she had no case on her phone, but maybe that was because the magic protected it. Maybe. Or maybe Ahti was just one of those people. Sammy didn’t know how to really respond. At some point all smartphones start to look the same really. “I know most of our stuff is made in our worlds. Easier to just make it new rather than get it from here and convert it or something like that.

“Huh, okay then. I don’t suppose there’s a way for me to get access to that, is there?”

“I mean, you could come over to Celesque sometime and pick something up,” Ahti said, opening the door to Sammy’s floor.

“Wait, I thought Maria said it was dangerous for humans to go over there. And wasn’t she only able to because she’s turning into a demon?”

“It’s not dangerous for humans to go to Celesque. The Gate magic can be pretty rough on you guys, but there are precautions that can be taken. But it would still probably put you out of commission for a day once you get there.”

“So, I could go over and see you guys there?” Excitement flourished inside the enby at the potential of going to an entirely new world and using magic to get there.

Ahti smiled down at Sammy. “One day, but you’ll need around three days off to do it.”

Three days, huh? They could work with that. They could find an opportunity for that. Wait!!!!! Next weekend they have Friday off as well! YES!

Ahti seemed to pick up on the massive smile spreading across the enby’s face. “You have a three day weekend coming up, don’t you?”

“Next weekend,” Sammy said as they stepped up to their door.

“Oh, I guess we’ll have to do something, won’t we?” The smile she gave Sammy made their stomach do a little flip. 

“I would like that,” Sammy said as their face heated up. “Maybe we could let Maria and Edith know, so I can see them as well.”

“Absolutely.” The jackal looked at the door behind Sammy, not really sure what to say but not wanting this to end just yet.

A thought suddenly occurred to Sammy. “Um, would… Would you like to come in?” They could hear the shakiness in their voice.

The jackal raised an eyebrow, not having expected this. “Don’t you have roommates? Wouldn’t they be bothered?”

“They're actually out for the night. There’s a game at the local stadium.”

“Oh.” Sammy wasn’t sure if they were actually seeing it, but it looked like Ahti was blushing a bit herself. Though it was hard to tell with the fur. “Sure, why not.”

Without further ado, the enby unlocked the door and walked them both in, closing the door behind them. The apartment was nice and big, being that four people live here and all that. It was also a little messy after Sammy’s roommates’ frantic packing. “Sorry about the mess, it was a rather last-minute night out.”

Ahti chuckled. “Oh it’s fine. You should see my friend Luna’s place. Incredibly organized at work, but that doesn’t seem to transfer over to her apartment. Not that it’s dirty, just a bit of a mess.” The jackal looked around the place. “This is nice though. Bigger than I thought it would be.”

“It’s pretty big, but with four people it can feel kind of small at times. Especially when everyone is out in the living area.”

“Oh, I bet. That’s how it felt when I had roommates. But thankfully it’s been a few decades since I’ve had them.”

“So you live on your own now?” The young enby couldn’t help but try to tidy up a little since Ahti was here. Maybe they should make her some coffee as well. It’s appropriate to offer your guest coffee, right?

Ahti nodded. “Yeah. My place isn’t quite this big, but my job pays well enough that I can live on my own. So that’s nice.”

“That’s good. I’m hoping I can do that myself with my new job. But it’s hard finding places out here. Would you like something to drink?”

“Sure, that would be nice. What do you have?”

“Would you like some coffee?” Sammy asked, heading over to the kitchen.

“Sure. Never heard of it before, but sure.”

“You’ve never had coffee? Do you not have it in Celesque?” As much as Sammy would have liked to offer her freshly ground coffee for the best experience, instant coffee would have to do.

“I’ve never heard of it, so probably not. There are probably a lot of things that might seem common here that I have absolutely no idea about. Same goes for you and stuff from my home.” 

Sammy nodded along, trying to wonder what it would be like to go there. Would they be really out of touch with everything? Would the customs just be so different that it was hard to assimilate? Maria seemed to be doing well, but she was turning into a demon. Shaking their head, Sammy ignored those thoughts and focused on bringing the coffee over to the counter where Ahti was. “Here, a cup of coffee. I hope you like it.”

The jackal sniffed the air. “Smells like revdige.” She lifted it to her lips and tasted it. “Oh yeah, we have this in Celesque, but we call it something different.” For some reason that felt like a relief. Sammy didn’t know if they could have survived without coffee. “Never let Edith have this if she comes over.”

“Why not?”

Ahti shook her head. “Just don’t. Trust me, it’s for the best.” The enby nodded, not really knowing how to respond. “So, any ulterior motives for inviting me into your empty home?” The jackal smirked down at Sammy, causing the poor enby to blush.

“N—n—no.” Their eyes were wide as dinner plates. “I just didn’t want the night to end yet.” It was true. They hadn’t even thought about anything else other than getting to talk with Ahti for longer. They liked being around her, and they wanted to get to know her more, which meant having to spend time with them.

The smirk on Ahti’s face shifted into a sincere smile at Sammy’s words. “I didn’t either. Thank you for inviting me in.” The jackal’s tail was easy to see, happily wagging back and forth. 

“Y—you’re welcome.” The enby took a sip of their coffee, in hopes of hiding the blush, which didn’t have the benefit of being under makeup tonight. The two sat there quietly for a couple of minutes, just drinking their coffee and enjoying being in each other’s presence.

“So,” Ahti started, setting down her finished coffee, “would you maybe like to show me around?”

Sammy looked up at the jackal. “I don’t really know what else to show you.” Except for the bedrooms and bathrooms, it was just the living area and kitchen, which she had already seen. So what else was there?

“Well, I haven’t seen your bedroom,” Ahti said with a smirk. Sammy’s heart started pounding in their chest, and it wasn’t just the coffee. Oh gods, is this happening? Is this really happening? Are they going to let this happen? “I mean, you don’t have to if you’re not comfortable, cutie.”

“N—no, I don’t mind,” Sammy said with their face turning bright red. Oh fuck, this was happening. This was happening! The enby stood up, set their empty cup down and started walking in the direction of their bedroom. They could hear their heart pounding in their ears and peaking back to see Ahti following wasn’t helping. Especially since the smile on her muzzle made them a little weak at the knees, and her tail going into hyperdrive clearly showed how happy with this she was. Oh shit! Is their room even tidy?! Oh, by the gods they hoped it wasn’t a mess. Please don’t let it be a mess.

“Here it is,” Sammy said, opening the door to their room. It was a decently sized room, with the majority of the space taken up by their bed and dresser. Sammy’s desk and pc also took up one of the corners of the room. Overall, there was just the right amount of space to walk around without it being too cramped, but not much extra room outside of that. It also wasn’t a complete mess. Sammy was usually pretty tidy about their room anyway, so they didn’t know why they were worrying so much just a second ago.

“This is cozy,” Ahti said, stepping into the room and looking around. “Definitely feels more like your space than out there in the common room. Oh, this is cute.” The jackal ran a hand over the green dress Sammy had left lying on the bed.

“T—thanks,” Sammy said, eyeing the dress. A terrible clenching in their chest took hold as a million thoughts rushed through their head. “W—would you have preferred I wore that?” They couldn’t hold it in. They couldn’t hold in the question that burned inside them.

Ahti looked back up and over at Sammy in the doorway. There was still a smile on her face, but there was confusion in her eyes. “Why would I have preferred that? I think you look really good with what you have on.”

Relief flooded Sammy, as they finally released the breath they hadn’t realized they were holding. Ahti didn’t care that they didn’t wear the dress. They liked how they looked in the pants and button down top. They didn’t complain that they didn’t have makeup on. They hadn’t constantly told them how feminine and girly they were.

“Did I say something wrong?” The worry that filled Ahti’s voice made the enby look back up, not having realized they looked away.

“No. You didn’t say anything wrong,” Sammy said, giving her a smile.

“You’re crying,” Ahti said, still not convinced. Wait, they were crying? Sammy reached up and wiped away a few tears that had somehow found their way onto their cheek. The jackal took a step closer to the enby and reached out to touch their shoulder. “You sure I didn’t say something to upset you?”

“N—no. You said the right thing,” Sammy said with a smile on their face. Ahti looked confused and still a little worried. “Sorry. I just got caught up in my head and was having some not so fun thoughts,” they admitted honestly.

The jackal rubbed Sammy’s shoulder gently. “Do you want to talk about it? Or would you like to just leave it and move on?”

“I don’t know... My ex just kind of instilled some thoughts in me that aren’t very good.”

A look of understanding washed over Ahti’s face as they gave Sammy a gentle smile. “I’m sorry. Exes aren’t the best.”

Sammy gave a light chuckle. “No, they aren’t. But at least I’m past him.”

“And I’m very glad for that, or I wouldn’t be on a date with such a cute little furry.” The jackal gave the quickly blushing enby a devilish smile. “And I most certainly wouldn’t be in their bedroom, wondering if I could kiss them.” One of her fur covered hands found its way to gently cupping their cheek

Sammy felt their heart in their throat. Did she really just say that? She wants to kiss them?! Is Sammy okay with that? Right after just talking about their ex. Sammy bit their lip. Fuck it. Fuck him. Sammy can do what they want, and they don’t need to give any thought to that man. They were on a date with Ahti. A beautiful jackal who is standing in their bedroom wanting to kiss them!

“Okay,” the enby managed to choke out as they looked up at Ahti.

The jackal leaned in and kissed them, much like they had done a week ago. The enby felt their blood pounding as Ahti continued to hold this kiss, not pulling away like she had done last week. Sammy couldn’t help but fall into the kiss. It was admittedly different, since she had a muzzle rather than a more human face, but it worked. It still sent shivers up their spine. Then she deepened the kiss a little, and before Sammy knew it their arms were wrapped around her neck whilst her’s settled around their waist.

Sammy wasn’t sure how long they were standing there kissing. They just knew they were enjoying it. It felt good to be kissed by someone. It felt good to be held by someone. It felt good to be this close to someone again. It felt good to be with her.

~~~

Sammy woke in warm furred arms. They held Sammy close and tight in a way the enby had missed dearly. The memories of last night washed over them. After the kiss they shared, the couple didn’t take it any further. Though both of them may have wanted it in the moment, they both decided that taking it a little slow wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. No need to rush into things like Maria and Edith. Not that those two were rushing really, considering they were literal soulmates.

Still, after that, the two ended up chatting whilst sitting on Sammy’s bed. That chatting slowly became cuddling as the night went on, and eventually the pair fell asleep in each other's arms. Neither had really expected Ahti to spend the night, but neither complained about it. 

The enby pushed themselves slightly deeper into the warm embrace. This was good. This was exactly what they needed after so long. So there they laid, soaking up all the gentle affection. 

It was surprisingly easy for the enby to pick up on when the jackal woke up. They didn’t even have to look up, or feel the woman shift in anyway. They just heard her tail slowly start thumping against the bed.

“The tail’s a big give away that you’re awake,” Sammy gently whispered, which instantly stopped the thumping.

“Well, I’m sorry you don’t have a tail, letting me know your awake.” The jackal chuckled out as their tail resumed its light wagging. Ahti pulled the little enby closer, somewhat smashing their face into the top of her still clothed breasts. Sammy didn’t say anything, but they felt their face heat up like a bonfire at the position they were in. Not that it was bad, just... Very close. “Did you sleep well?”

Sammy nodded gently. “I did.” In fact they slept better than they have in a long time. Who doesn’t love falling asleep in the arms of the person you like? Who doesn’t find that more comforting than being alone? “What about you?”

“I slept great. Don’t often get to fall asleep holding onto something as cute as you.” Okay that really wasn’t helping the blush on Sammy’s hidden face. “We might need to do this again sometime soon, so I can keep getting a good night’s rest.”

“I would like that,” The enby replied almost instantly.

Without warning, an alarm rang out through the room.

“Shit, sorry.” The jackal pulled away and reached off of the bed to the nightstand that held her phone. The alarm shut off quickly, but Ahti still stayed looking at her phone. “Oh you’ve got to be kidding me...”

“What?” Sammy sat themselves up and looked over at her. 

“Luna... I told you not to come in today,” Ahti groaned as she typed away at a text. Once finished, she sighed gently and put the phone down. “There’s an issue at work.”

“Oh, is it something bad?”

“No, just bothersome, and sadly something that needs my personal attention... Sorry but I’m going to have to cut our morning short.” It was plain to see in her eyes that this was something that upset her, but Sammy fully understood. They couldn’t ever say they haven’t had to go into work to fix something when they shouldn’t really be there.

“It’s okay,” they said ever so slightly disappointedly. They were kind of hoping for a slow, easy morning with Ahti, but hey, they’ll have more opportunities for it in the future. “Do you want to stay for breakfast at least?”

Ahit gave Sammy a gentle but sad smile that lightly tugged at their heart. “I wish I could, but I need to get home and shower and change. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry.” The enby stood up from the bed, not needing to put any clothes on since they never took them off. “I get it.”

“Thanks,” the jackal replied as they got up and gathered their purse off of the floor. The pair walked over to the door, and Sammy pulled it open for Ahti. “Oh, hello,” Ahti said before even walking out of the door. Wait. Who was she saying hello to?!

Following closely behind, Sammy found Derek sitting at the kitchen table with a bowl of cereal in front of him. Spoon held in the air as milk and cereal fell from it. His mouth was wide open as he openly stared at Ahti, seemingly frozen in place.

“Oh. Shit,” the jackal said plainly as they stared back at Derek.

“What?” Sammy asked, confused, looking back and forth between the two staring at each other.

“I took my glamour off last night... And I forgot to put it back on...”

Oh shit. Oh SHIT! Sammy’s eyes went wide as they turned to look back at Derek. What should they say? What can they say? Fuck, what were they supposed to do?!

“Fuck... I’m still tripping balls,” Derek said, turning back to his bowl of cereal.

Oh thank the gods!!! Oh gods, yes! He just thinks he’s high!

A light but very quick chant came from the jackal, causing Sammy to look back over at her. She seemed to breathe a sigh of relief before letting out a small chuckle.

“Fuck, that was close,” she whispered to Sammy. The enby just looked back at her with wide eyes, causing the jackal to chuckle. “Alright I really do need to go.”

“Oh, right, yeah.” Sammy shook their head to snap out of it and walked Ahti over to the door. “So, I guess I’ll see you next week?” the enby asked hopefully as they opened the door for her.

“Oh, most definitely. And this time, you can come over and see my place.” The jackal couldn’t help but give Sammy a big smile. A hand reached out and cupped their cheek as they stood in the doorway. “Bye, Sammy.” Before the enby could respond, Ahti leaned in and gave them a kiss much like they had done a week ago. 

Sammy’s face was as red as Edith’s by the time Ahti pulled away, and all they could do was stutter back, “B—bye, Ahti.”

“See you soon.”