Archive of Our Own ^beta

Nines hadn't been around since his request to revisit their attempt at dating, but it was now the Thursday they had agreed upon. So, he would probably show up anytime soon.

Gavin tried not to dwell on it, instead he focused on his own usual routine for the one night a week he rarely worked overtime on. First up was a shower, the longer than usual, steaming hot, kind of shower designed to ease the ache between his shoulders and sluice off the invisible grime that years of police work had caked onto his ever-thickening skin. Second, comfy clothes, which tonight included loose sweats and a baggy, long sleeved, crew neck shirt and fuzzy socks. Third, shitty TV and a blanket over his lap on the sofa. He could at least relax whilst he waited on his hellish husband.

Drifting off wasn't the plan, but then again, neither was waiting all night for Nines.

Waking up, at 1am according to the clock above his still playing TV, wasn't what he expected. He groaned as shifting awakened the aches in neck from his curled up position.

"Shhh."

"Phck!" He yelped, scrambling to his feet.

"Well, I was hoping you'd fall back asleep." Nines grouched from the sofa, where he'd apparently been letting Gavin use his lap as a pillow.

"When did you get here?" Gavin growled, the skin of his cheeks feeling hot. He winced at the pull of his neck again, now that his heart was slowing, the previous pain crept back in.

"You were asleep, about two hours ago?" Nines shrugged. "I ran into an issue so I was late."

"And instead of leaving, or waking me, you move me to your lap?" Gavin asked, less growly, but still miffed by the scare. Nines shrugged again.

"I decided I would wait for you to wake. And I don't mind letting you use my lap as a pillow." Nines replied, sounding rather nonchalant about the whole thing. Rather than responding immediately, Gavin wandered away from the sofa to the adjoining kitchen. His mouth felt rather dry, and a glass of water was a suitable method of giving himself time to think of what to say next. With that sorted, he turned back to Nines.

"Perhaps we could reschedule our date from tonight?"

"No." Gavin said, not even peevishly, "I work practically everyday. I don't have time for another date. Thursdays, every second Thursday only."

Nines frowned, and behind his icy blue eyes Gavin could see the flare of indignation, the anger at being told no. Perhaps he should be scared to the point of relenting, but no. If he gave ground now, he'd never gain it back, and he wasn't going to live his life as a subservient, cock-warming, plaything of a husband. No, the demon demanded a wedding, he'd get a partner. And partners shared equal footing in a relationship.

"I see." Nines finally said, sounding far calmer than his eyes betrayed.

"Come back in two weeks. We can do something then." Gavin suggested, trying to sound just as calm. In reality, his heart was thudding a little too fast. "You can stay over, but I'm going to bed, to sleep."

With that final clarification, he took his glass of water and headed for his room. It took barely a second for Nines to follow and Gavin tried his best to ignore him as he slipped into bed and toed the fuzzy socks off. No socks in bed, it was fine if he fell asleep with them on the sofa, but in bed he knew he would be hyper aware of them. Nines stood and watched, which was unsettling to say the least. They were shrouded in darkness but he could feel the weight of eyes on him, it was enough to rekindle the heat of irritation in his chest.

"Are you getting in then?" He hissed, and finally, Nines moved. He walked around the other side of the bed and lowered himself down, on top of the duvet. Whatever, he could please himself. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Gavin."

-

There was a presence in Gavin's apartment that shouldn't have been there. He had felt it when he arrived and saw Gavin fast asleep, it was why he had stayed instead of leaving. Manoeuvring Gavin onto his lap had been his not so subtle way of telling whatever lurked that Gavin was his, and that was why he remained even after Gavin woke for that brief period.

Even though the little man had pissed him off with the refusal to rearrange their date, he could not leave him to the mercy of whatever was lingering like a bad smell.

Still, spending the night sat in Gavin's bed wasn't the worst. Especially not when the other, so open in sleep, had shuffled towards him and was now using his lap as a pillow again, arms wrapped around his thigh like he was an overly large teddy bear.

"Revelare te," Nines whispered, but at the command, the presence pulled sharply away, diminishing itself to nothing instead of revealing itself. It was not a weakling then. It was concerning, and now he knew he had to keep a closer eye on his groom.

It could be an interfector.

That would be inconvenient, but not necessarily difficult, or unexpected. A person who struck a deal with the intent of killing someone, justified or not, often attracted one. Problem was finding which interfector it could be, and how to dissuade them. They weren't necessarily a well-respected class of demon, often interloping on other demon's deals and snatching the soul from beneath them ahead of time, but it wasn't encouraged to kill them either.

Plus, Gavin's soul wasn't up for grabs, it was his for the duration of their marriage. The last two partners, he'd relinquished their souls, fit for fate to do what it would with them, send them to hell or to whatever they deemed a peaceful afterlife if deserving. Surprisingly, being affiliated with a demon didn't immediately hurtle you to damnation. He'd never even stuck around to find out, their remains were all that were semi-useful to him after all. Souls were good currency, but he didn't plan on being under long enough to use them. Connor did something similar, but if he saw them heading down, he would reclaim them. Sentiment.

Speaking of sentiment, perhaps he could persuade Connor to aid him in tracking the presence he had sensed. They were brothers after all, and Connor did have such an attachment to the idea. Of course, he'd repay the favour, attend whatever silly event Connor wished to go to, or babysit his beastly creche for a week or something.

Gavin mumbled in his sleep, sidetracking his thoughts and relocating his attention to the slack form leaning against him. The slight nuzzle into his upper thigh was surprisingly captivating, his breath catching a little at the unexpectedly tender feeling it stirred. People didn't turn to him for comfort, not even Connor who he was begrudgingly closest to. Hell, the last time someone willingly came this close to him was Keren, some sixty years ago, and she only did so because she was lonely herself during their marriage, and told him so.

Would he have done it if he was awake? A snide inner voice questioned. It wasn't as if he and Gavin were on good terms, so there was no reason to believe this touch was anything other than accidental. Perhaps he should get used to the idea that he and Gavin would never be amicable, they were simply too stubborn and their compatibility was likely zero, maybe just above for their sexuality. Certainly they had potential there.

The sun was barely beginning to wash away the darkness when Gavin stirred again, his face scrunching up as he fought to stay asleep. Nines remained as still as he could, just watching, but Gavin still woke. When he did, he rolled away without much of a fuss but with a hastiness that belied his discomfort at their proximity.

"Thought you'd be gone." Gavin mumbled, pushing himself up just enough to lean against the headboard. His voice was thickened by sleep, his words barely distinguishable if not for Nines's superior hearing.

"You said I could stay."

"Did you watch me sleep all night?" Gavin rubbed his fists against his eyes, dispelling the crust of sleep that had barely settled.

"I didn't specifically watch you, I was thinking." Nines replied, quiet and calm, "you should be aware that your position as my husband can invite challenge, I was compiling methods to discourage that."

Gavin turned his head slowly, his jaw moving as if he was about to speak but kept changing his mind.

"You are safe." Nines partially lied, "but I simply prefer to be thorough. How would you feel about wearing a warding charm?"

"Well, how would I wear it?"

"I can put it on a necklace?" Nines ventured. "A tattoo on your skin, or a carving, would be more effective."

"You are not carving my skin!" Gavin snapped, but rather than fraying on Nines's own temper he was actually inclined to agree. Whilst his detective's skin was already scarred in many places, he felt no desire to see more inflicted, and he had promised to protect the man, carving into his skin would be unnecessarily painful.

"Necklace." Nines hummed, closing his palm around a blue flash, and unfurling his fingers to hold a pendant on a silver chain up to Gavin. The pendant itself was a flat silver, a jagged spiral surrounded by runes carved into it.

"Thanks." Gavin grudgingly said, taking it, and slipping it over his head. There was no clasp, no structural weakness to the chain, it would come apart only if the wearer commanded it.

"If you ever need the chain to come off in pieces, order it to break, no spells, just tell it to break."

Gavin gave him a weary, wary look at that advice, but nodded all the same.

"Now, I will leave you to your morning. Thank you for letting me stay." Nines briefly touched his hand to Gavin's knee before standing.

"Bye." Gavin said, watching as he faded from view. He hadn't actually left, but he was no longer able to be perceived by humans.

The lurker from the night before may no longer be able to actively track Gavin, but it already knew where his apartment was.