D.E.M.O.N.S: Getting Summoned Weekly isn't so Bad

Gramps walked forward and gave Kat a heavy slap on the shoulder. It wasn’t painful, physically anyway but Gramps’ face was set into a frown. Kat had a moment of panic as Gramps said, “That was pathetic,” Kat felt her heart freeze, “what sort of admission is that?” wait what? “that was weak Kat. Do you love this woman or not?”

Kat glared back down at Gramps for a moment and let her passion for Lily fill her. Her eyes burned purple, demonic energy leaking from the sides. Purple markings on her horns lit up and her wings flared. “Of course I do!”

“Then own it,” said Gramps forcefully. “Just like you are now. My eyes might not be as bright now that my own love has passed, but you can bet your ass I took every chance I could to talk about her when I was younger. I still take most of those chances. I’ll admit it is a little surprising... but I’ve never known you to be so timid about something. Tell me, you were scared to admit your feelings clearly but... what would you have done if Lily got hurt?”

“Terrible things,” were the words that leaked out of Kat’s mouth dripping with venom and demonic energy. “Truly terrible things,”

“See, that’s the sort of certainty you need when admitting your feelings Kat. Even to unrelated parties. Perhaps it’s different for young people these days but I loved the chance to gloat about my wife. It’s much better then gloating about my own accomplishments. So tell me, how exactly did this all come about? I’ll admit it’s a bit of a surprise to me,” said Gramps.

“Why is that?” asked Kat.

.....

“Unlike your own... sexuality I suppose you can call it, I didn’t notice Lily had a crush on you. I wonder if it’s due to her skill at hiding things or because I simply didn’t know her as long... how did you both manage to figure everything out?” asked Gramps.

“It... well... it was a bit of a thing... um... hmm...” Gramps raised an unamused eyebrow, “No I’m not embarrassed it’s just... I’m not sure where to start. A lot of things sort of all came together and it’s difficult to know when to start...” explained Kat.

“The beginning tends to be a good place I find,” offered Gramps.

“Yeah laugh it up Gramps...” said Kat. Gramps decided that was a great queue to laugh of course. Letting out a sigh Kat continued, “See... I’m not sure if I should start with the stuff that happened before Lily met me. It’s a bit of a story and it’s really more hers to tell... but it’s kind of important. Then again... if it’s just about how we got together that can be started earlier... but how much earlier is a bit of a question,”

“Wherever you feel comfortable Kat. This is your relationship we’re talking about,” said Gramps calmly.

“Hmm... I guess I’ll just say that Lily found me rather attractive since she’s known me-”

“Of course” snorted Gramps playfully.

Kat gave Gramps a quick glare. “As I was saying, apparently I’m quite attractive to her,” Gramps rolled his eyes but stayed quiet, “but she didn’t really have a crush on me till I started helping her out with the bullies at school. Still after what happened with her last crush she pushed that all down and decided we could just be friends.

“Then I did a Contract that really only I could do at the time and got two favours from the demon system, D.E.M.O.N.S and I could use them for basically whatever I wanted. In the end I thought they would be best used to change what race Lily is, and maybe Sylvie when she gets older as well.”

“Isn’t that kinda racist?” asked Gramps jokingly?

“Well first off no. If you can be a magic space elf you’d pick magic space elf. Humans are objectively weaker at a base level. This isn’t some barely relevant difference like skin colour. Almost all of the other races she could chose had something innately magical about them and different lifespans. That last part is particularly important because I’m quite likely to be functionally immortal, and even if I don’t quite get there my lifespan is already measured in thousands of years,” said Kat a little sharply.

“Sorry, I was just messing with you. You’re treating this quite seriously. I know I said to be confident... but you can have a bit of fun with it as well,” suggested Gramps.

“I’ll keep it in mind,” said Kat curtly. “Anyway, as I was saying that seemed to be the best use of them. I made the offer of magic to Lily and she jumped at it... but buried amongst the frankly ridiculous number of options Lily managed to find a somewhat experimental one that would allow her to live as long as I do, and connect us permanently so we can hear each other’s thoughts. It also gives her access to three kinds of magic which is a lot. There wasn’t anything that gave MORE but I think there was a few that would also give three...

“It took her weeks of searching to find this particular race. I’m not sure when exactly she noticed it... but eventually it became too good a chance for her to pass up. Despite all the worry she had... she decided she had to try. From what I’ve gathered... she tried despite the fact that she was all but certain it would end horribly, and...

“Well the reason I’ve been able to dedicate myself so fully to Lily isn’t just the strength of my feelings or the new realisation about my sexuality. It’s because... well you know how I can’t lie?” Gramps nodded, “Yeah... I tried to say that it’d be better that Lily found someone else, or that I’d be happy for her if she found someone else... and I was physically incapable of saying it. I was incapable of lying and I’ve never been happier for it...

“So... once that was established I put my own concerns on the table, that I’m not sexually attracted to her or anyone else. That she’d need to be the one to push our relationship along... though that part seems to have been a lie but whatever I didn’t realise how shy she’d be about some things despite dating. Still... I was quite worried I wouldn’t be able to give her everything she’d want... but well...

“The bond helps. I can push my feelings through the bond so Lily can feel them properly and she can do the same for me. It gives us both a way to know that we really do care for each other. I’ll never be attracted to her the way... and that’s something we’ve both managed to accept, surprisingly easy actually,”

“Hmm... that sounds lovely. What problems are you having though? It’s good to talk them through,” said Gramps.

Kat let out a short huff, “Well... I think the biggest one is that... despite how we’ve settled into things... there are times where Lily doesn’t seem to think she deserves the love I do have for her. She also tends to act as if I do find her sexually attractive...

“I mean maybe it is just embarrassment but a good example is that she doesn’t really like wearing revealing outfits even when there isn’t really anyone around except me. I just can’t understand why. It’s not going to change the way I look at her...”

“Perhaps she’s worried you’ll find something you hate or worse, are disgusted by?” suggested Gramps.

“What? That’s silly!” retorted Kat.

“Hmm. Perhaps it is but that doesn’t mean she isn’t worried. I would say it isn’t about being sexy or not at all... I would hazard a guess it’s more of an issue with comparisons. She evidently finds you attractive in a wide variety of ways, mind and body. I suspect she is constantly finding herself coming up short. While it might not matter if you find her attractive... she feels self-conscious about the fact she is less attractive then you are,” suggested Gramps.

“Is she less attractive than I am?” asked Kat, “It’s really hard for me to tell.”

Gramps let out a pained groan. “Kat. I am so much older than the both of you I cannot see either of you as anything but children. Furthermore... neither of you look anything like my wife so I probably wouldn’t want to risk betting on either side anyway.

“It doesn’t really matter anyway though. From the sounds of it, Lily could be the most attractive woman in the world and still have this issue. It isn’t a matter of her true attractiveness, it’s the fact she doesn’t find herself attractive and assumes everyone else must compare favourably to her. It’s a mental issue probably stemming from her past. It’s something that will be hard for her to get over. It’s not normal to find yourself sexually attractive so... she’ll likely always consider herself inferior unless you can smash that idea somehow,”