Jurao was still considering the question of kissing as he walked to the gardens before the midday meal. He’d never kissed anyone before, so he had no idea if he’d enjoy the experience or what Braelin thought about the situation.

Sexual relations seemed… too much to consider, so the Demon King chose not to think about them. At least for the time being.

He found Braelin in the Pond Garden, sitting in the gazebo - though as Jurao approached, the Iron Ivy shook to alert the human. Glancing over, he tucked away something before the Demon King reached his location.

“What were you working on,” Jurao asked, curious.

Braelin hummed a little, getting to his feet, “Just whittling a bit.”

“Ah,” the Demon King nodded, “Ready for the midday meal.”

“Yes,” the human replied, waiting for Jurao to begin leading the way.

The Demon King paused, however, “I had… a question.”

Braelin tilted his head, waiting.

“Have you ever kissed anyone, Braelin,” Jurao asked, thinking it was safe enough to do so here - even without a door to shut.

“Once,” the human replied, “A maid that got a little drunk - she mistook me for someone else in the dark.”

“I see,” Jurao said, “What did you think of the experience.”

Braelin shrugged, “I’m not sure it would be a fair assessment, all things considered.”

“That’s true,” the Demon King conceded.

After a few moments of silence, Braelin asked, “Did you want to try?”

“… I’m not sure,” Jurao confessed, “I’ve never kissed anyone, but the idea isn’t… unpleasant.”

His gardener hummed, then said, “We could still try - it’s a usual romantic activity, after all.”

“It is,” Jurao agreed. After a moment of consideration, he nodded and lowered himself down to one knee to be closer in height to the human.

Braelin hesitated a moment himself before stepping forward, seemingly unsure how to go about things at this stage.

Jurao was equally unsure, not wanting to press by reaching out while trying to remember what he’d seen others do.

As he muddled, his gardener seemed to decide on a course of action - stepping closer and reaching out to hold the Demon King’s face between his hands before leaning in to press their mouths together.

Jurao reached out on instinct, but hesitated on wrapping an arm around the man’s waist. He’d closed his eyes on instinct as well - the sensation wasn’t… unpleasant, but it was… ah, he wasn’t sure. It did not have the thunderous revelation of why others seemed to enjoy it so much, but yet…

Braelin pulled back and asked, “Thoughts?”

Jurao hummed, “I don’t know. Should we… try again.”

The human nodded and leaned in again without the small trace of hesitation from before.

The Demon King did wrap his arm around the human now, though loosely, as he pressed into the contact. It wasn’t the best thing in the world, but it was… good. He certainly wouldn’t mind continuing, in any case.

When he pulled back, Jurao asked, “Your thoughts.”

“It’s better than the drunken maid,” Braelin replied, not having backed away, “Though… others seem to describe it as being… hm.”

“Yes,” the Demon King agreed, “Others do seem to believe it is a revolutionary experience of sorts.”

His gardener nodded, “It’s pleasant, but not… groundbreaking.”

Jurao hummed in agreement, then suggested, “Perhaps we are doing it incorrectly.”

“I suppose we could be,” Braelin said, “Perhaps another try…?”

The Demon King hummed again, being the one to press their lips together this time. He pulled the human closer, changing the angle ever so slightly.

Braelin leaned into him a bit more as well, hands sliding to Jurao’s shoulders as the man steadied himself.

They continued for a brief time, each moving as they willed in exploration.

When the plants around them started rustling again, Braelin stepped back. He looked around, saying, “Someone must be nearby.”

Jurao got to his feet, feeling mildly lightheaded for some reason. Yes, kissing was nice - but simply nice, not more, he thought.

It was Gaele who appeared, running up to them and saying, “Oh! There you two are! I mean,” they skidded to a halt and bowed, “Good afternoon, your highness!”

“Good afternoon,” the Demon King replied, “You were looking for us.”

“Ah, yes! Uh,” Gaele chuckled, “Um, Alae asked me to see where you were - it’s been over an hour since he expected you back for the midday meal, so…”

“Over an hour,” Jurao frowned. It hadn’t felt like that much time had passed - all they had done was kiss, after all…

“Over an hour,” Braelin also said, looking equally confused.

“Er, yes…?” Gaele replied, shifting their weight, “Were you… doing… something…?”

“Kissing,” Jurao replied easily.

Braelin nodded.

Gaele stared, seeming a bit lost, “Um… so you… lost track of time because you were…?”

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“I suppose we did,” the Demon King nodded, “Though… it still did not seem more than pleasant - right.”

Braelin nodded, “I was not overwhelmed.”

“Nor I,” Jurao agreed, “Perhaps the true power of kissing is in how it isn’t overwhelming. It lulls you into a false sense of security.”

“It could be,” Braelin said, “It does seem dangerous, when it’s so easy to lose track of oneself…”

The Demon King hummed and asked, “Do you agree, Lordis Gaele.”

“Um,” they chuckled nervously, “Do I… do I agree about what…?”

“That kissing is dangerous,” Jurao replied.

Gaele seemed to consider this, looking around the garden before asking, “Are… are you actually asking, your highness?”

“Yes,” the Demon King replied, unsure why they would assume he wasn’t asking.

“I… ye-es,” Gaele settled on, “Yes, I do think kissing can be dangerous. I mean, not that I have a lot of experience, or anything, but…”

“I’d only been kissed once before this,” Braelin replied, “So a small amount of experience is probably still more than me.”

“This was my first time kissing anyone,” Jurao added.

“Oh,” Gaele said, then their eyes lit up as usual, “Oh, wow. That’s… that’s incredible! I wouldn’t even be able to tell someone else I’d lost track of time kissing someone, but you two admitted it so easily! And really thought about the experience!”

“Is that so strange,” Jurao asked, tilting his head.

“Yes!” Gaele said, throwing out their arms, “I mean, I’m sure someone has thought about it a lot, but not the way you two have! The true power of the kiss… what an idea!”

The Demon King hummed, then shrugged, “In any case, I suppose we should head inside for the midday meal.”

Braelin nodded.

However, as they began to walk away, Gaele yelped.

Looking back, they found the lordis had been picked up by the long willow tendrils - not dangerously so, but merely being suspended a foot or so off the ground.

“Um, what is happening?” Gaele asked, remaining still despite the panic in their voice. They even looked like they might cry.

“Oh,” Braelin said, “I think they’ve missed you.”

“Wh-what?” the lordis asked.

“You’ve been avoiding the Pond Garden since you became my assistant,” the human went on, “But you used to come here almost every day. The plants liked listening to your performances, so they missed you.”

“… they did?” Gaele asked.

Braelin hummed and nodded, “Sorry if you were embarrassed to find out I’d been listening before. It wasn’t intentional - also,” the human reached out, tugging on one of the tendrils of leaves, “Let them down, please - you can’t hold them hostage.”

The tree shivered, but slowly lowered Gaele back down to the ground.

“Thank you,” they sighed, rubbing their upper arms - then paused, turning back to the tree, “Um, did you really like listening that much…?”

A few leaf tendrils twisted together, reaching out to pat the lordis on the head a few times.

They seemed awed by the gesture - then slapped the sides of their face and bowed, “Sorry! I didn’t even think you were listening to my rambling!” they straightened up, “I’ll come back again, I promise!”

The willow patted their head again and creaked as it returned to a more natural position.

Braelin smiled at the exchange.

Gaele whirled around, face dark with a blush as they added, “And, um! I was embarrassed to find out someone had been listening, but, um,” they deflated, and started poking their index fingers together, “Did my voices really get better?”

“They did,” Braelin confirmed, “It was fun to listen to you - like an actor trying to attract guests to their troupe’s performance.”

Gaele smiled, still blushing - then bowed again, “Thank you! Uh, enjoy your meal!”

And, as usual, they ran off.

Jurao shook his head with a smile of his own, “Shall we.”

Braelin nodded, and they finally managed to leave the gardens and head to Jurao’s office.

When they entered the Demon King’s receiving room, Alae looked up and smiled, “Ah, I see Lordis Gaele was able to find you, then.”

“Sorry for the delay,” Jurao replied, “We lost track of time.”

His secretary chuckled, “And what could you be doing to disrupt your schedule, your highness?”

“Kissing,” the Demon King replied.

Braelin nodded, “We hadn’t realized it could be so dangerous.”

Alae snorted - then failed to refrain from laughing, resting his head on his arms over his desk. After a few moments, he looked up, “Ah, yes - congratulations on your courtship. Kissing is indeed a dangerous activity. I hope you’ll be more cautious in the future.”

“Thank you,” Jurao replied, “We will.”

“Your meal is waiting in your office,” his secretary added, returning to the work on his desk.

“Thank you, Alae,” the Demon King said again, leading the way inside the room.

Braelin followed behind, and looked around curiously as he entered. He said, “It’s not much different from a human office - other than being made of stone and clay.”

“Did you think it would be more different,” Jurao asked, stepping over to the chairs before the hearth, the promised meal left on the low table there.

“I wasn’t sure either way,” Braelin replied.

“Fair enough,” the Demon King nodded, taking a seat and gesturing towards the other chair.

His gardener took another look around the office, then walked over to sit down.

“Out of curiosity,” Jurao asked, “Why do you find it difficult to refuse food from the garden.”

Braelin sighed, “The plants work so hard to grow fruits, vegetables, and herbs. It feels mean to refuse when they offer it.”

The Demon King smiled, “Well, I’m sure they understand the necessity for your health.”

His gardener nodded, digging into his own, human food meal, “They haven’t offered me anything since Kloy talked to them.”

Jurao nodded, “The sooner you refrain, the sooner you will no longer need to refrain.”

Braelin sighed, “Yes, that’s true.”

“Braelin,” Jurao asked, remembering the conversation with Morvvan, “Do you have a favorite color.”

“Mm,” his gardener nodded, “Red.”

The Demon King hummed, smiling, “I would have thought green.”

“Most people do,” Braelin agreed, “But my mother’s favorite flowers were red zinnias, so I always thought of her when I saw them. Over time, the color became my favorite.”

“That makes sense,” Jurao replied.

“Do you have a favorite color,” Braelin paused, and asked, “Jurao?”

The Demon King nodded, “Blue,” he stood, walking over to his desk. He retrieved the dagger on display on one of the shelves against the wall, bringing it back over and holding it out, “This dagger was my first decade gift from my aunt - though she and my mother weren’t on speaking terms at the time.”

The human accepted it, looking it over. Like all of Nevve’s work, the craftsmanship was superb - the blade was made of fae steel in the demonic style, looking like iridescent glass, while the handle was wrapped in light blue dyed leather. As he examined it, Braelin asked, “Why not?”

“She thought the life of a beast hunter was too dangerous with a child,” Jurao replied, “I was one of the only children in our hunting band, but I don’t recall feeling badly about it. In any case, my mother still admired my aunt greatly - so I treasured that dagger throughout my childhood. Though, now I have swords made by Aunt Nevve, so I don’t often carry it with me.”

Braelin nodded, holding out the dagger as he finished his inspection, “I see - I don’t know much about blades, but it seems like fine work.”

“It is,” Jurao nodded and took it back - then paused. He was struck by the way the blue hilt was almost the same light shade as Braelin’s eyes.

“Hm?” the human tilted his head at the pause.

The Demon King shook his head, returning the dagger to its display stand, “Nothing, pay me no mind.”

Braelin nodded, watching after him before remarking, “I thought Feyl mentioned locks.”

Jurao waved at the shelves, “They may look like statues, but all of the figures here are complicated locks.”

The human rose to join him, “Ah - I see now, the keyholes.”

The Demon King nodded, picking up the Quad-Saber Lionsnake, “This is the latest one - the locks are in the mouths.”

Braelin carefully accepted the statue lock, turning it over in his hands, “How do you pick locks, exactly?”

Jurao took back the lock, replacing it before picking up one of the practice locks he’d been given as a child. Grabbing lockpicks from his desk, he led the way back before the hearth, “Inside of each lock is a series of tumblers - keys are shaped to push these tumblers up to the right position. When all of the tumblers are placed correctly, it opens the lock.”

As he spoke, the Demon King demonstrated with the lock - the side had been cut away to reveal the tumblers inside. It allowed Jurao to use his pick to slide each tumbler into the correct position until it clicked and opened.

“I see,” Braelin said, watching attentively.

“Would you like to try,” Jurao asked, pushing the lock closed and offering it and the pick to his gardener.

The man nodded, accepting both.

They spent the rest of the meal with Braelin attempting to pick the starter lock, Jurao offering help as requested. The Demon King thought it was a very pleasant way to spend the meal, rather than eating alone as usual.

Though he also wondered if tomorrow would include kissing as well - though either way seemed equally appealing.