She tasted heavenly.

The warm, salt-umami flavour tinged with notes of something indescribable. The hot blood pumping through the arteries coyly hidden just beneath the soft thigh flesh around his head. The sharp tangs of sweat mixed with bitter notes of deodorant. The pressure of her tail coiling around his throat. The cry of her voice muffled by her own hand. Her hands grabbing his horns. The sound of her wings beating senselessly against the bed.

It would have been so, so easy to consume her right then and there. The urge burned in his gut the entire time. Intrusive thoughts of him tearing deep into her femoral artery, snapping the femur between his teeth and wrenching the entire leg off in one go. But as overpowering as the hunger was, something far more powerful kept such urges at bay. Something that kept his bites gentle and his kisses soft. Something that compelled the Incubus to be as tender and compassionate as possible, to stave off his constant doubts and to just enjoy the moment for what it was.

And for once, he indulged himself. It was like his higher reasoning just shut off and he was left to run on instinct. Not the starved, violent instinct that had dogged his every thought for the last few months, but something else entirely.

As shaky and nervous as he was, Cobalt knew exactly what to do. Where to touch. Where to caress. Where to kiss. Where to nibble. Where to lick.

It all felt so eerily familiar.

He lost himself to Karazelle, suffusing every aspect of his perception with the Succubus. HIs vision was dyed with sweat-slicked purple, his nose was drowned in her bittersweet scent, his ears attuned themselves to every peak and quiver of her voice, and his hands learned every inch of her body off by heart.

And in her absence, when she stepped out to get herself cleaned up, Cobalt was struck with a deep, indescribable fear.

He had to leave. He couldn't fathom why. A half-scribbled note, and he forced his shirt on and bolted back into his apartment. With scarcely a word to Lilith, he grabbed her wrist and ran. Cobalt ran and ran, and didn't stop until he collapsed through the front doors of his mother's house and collapsed into his old bedroom, his mind aflame with a thousand contradicting thoughts. Burying himself in his bed, he covered his head and tried to calm his rampant heartbeat.

It took hours. He heard knocks at his door from confused family members. The buzzing of his phone as Karazelle rang his number, over and over. The soft breathing of Lilith as she sat at the Incubus' old desk, patiently skimming through his book collection as she waited for him to regain his composure. By the time Cobalt's head cleared, the sun had sunk far beneath the horizon, plunging the room into pitch darkness.

Slowly, he crawled out from beneath the covers, sitting up in the bed with his cheeks burning shamefully. He ran and hid like a child, as he always did. Once again, when he finally thought he had regained some semblance of stability, his life threw him another curveball, casting him back into the chaotic freefall of confusion and panic.

"... So. How far did you go?" Lilith asked calmly, flicking through one of the Incubus' old gangster novellas.

"Wh- What?!" Cobalt cried, flinching back.

The Devil sighed.

"I'm not an idiot, Cobalt. You were gone for a long time; far longer than just a casual chat. Besides, I can smell her all over you."

"I-!"

"Calm down. I'm not gonna make fun of you."

He swallowed hard. Karazelle's aftertaste still clung to his breath.

"... That's not what I'm worried about," he murmured, staring out the window.

The sky was clear, bathing much of the street outside in dim moonlight.

"But I will say this; if your plan was to keep her at arm's length, you're doing a pretty terrible job," Lilith added, slotting the book back onto the shelf.

"I never intended for this to happen!" Cobalt snapped, baring his teeth.

Lilith turned to face him, her one eye glinting in what few slivers of light shone through the window. It was strange; the last time they were in this room together, they almost wound up killing one another. That almost seemed like a lifetime ago...

"That's the thing. You always intend things, and it never works out. Ever wonder why?" she asked, leaning forward enough to make the old swivel chair squeak.

"What do you mean?"

"Everything you do only makes you feel worse. Ever stop to think that it's not really what you want?"

"This isn't about what I want! This is about what's best for them!"

"And what if you're what's best for them?"

Cobalt didn't have an answer for that one. Lilith didn't press either, leaving the pair of them in silence. As a few moments passed, he began to feel uncomfortably restless, spurring the Incubus to get out of his bed and head for the door. Without a word, the Devil rose to her feet and seamlessly fused with him, becoming one right as he unlocked the door and stepped out into the hallway. The house was quiet; no surprise, given the hour.

Jezebel had spared no expense in retrofitting the entire house for her returned husband. The bathrooms had been fitted with railings and pullcords, the doorways had been widened, and a stairlift had been installed to help ferry Cobalt's father between floors. The bed of the lift was at the bottom of the stairs, informing the Incubus that Brass was downstairs, likely still awake. In fact, he could see light coming from the kitchen doorway, and voices murmuring through the floorboards.

He swallowed hard. He'd know what to do, wouldn't he? Brass always knew what to say.

Creeping down the stairs, Cobalt carefully peeked around the door to the kitchen. There, he could see his sister Scarlet sitting at the counter, staring at a blank document on a laptop as Jezebel sat over at the kitchen table, talking to her. They both looked worried.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"... asked them a couple of weeks ago. Said they'd have the repairs done by now, but still nothing," Scarlet sighed, leaning back in her chair.

"I'm sure it's just the usual bureaucratic nonsense, honey," Jezebel responded, sipping from a mug of tea.

"They've never been down this long, Mom! If the Gates are down, then I can't write my pieces! I'm paid by the article!"

Cobalt frowned. Scarlet was a travel journalist; if she couldn't get to Earth, then...

"No, something's up. This kinda interference only happens when there's portal proximity issues."

A chill ran down Cobalt's spine. Jump Gates were notoriously unstable, even with modern technology. The reason why the Jump Terminals are spaced so far apart is that the closer portals are to one another, the less likely they are to work properly. If Scarlet - the resident expert on inter-planar travel - thought something was up...

"Sweetheart, calm down, you're getting ahead of yourself."

"I don't like feeling trapped in my own town, Mom! Can't go Earthside because of the busted gates, and now I'm hearing that there's roadblocks out Pumice Bay direction, and those dickheads from Karner's Cry are ramping up tolls on the-!"

Cobalt chose that moment to clear his throat, causing them both to whip around to face him.

"Look who's finally crawled out of his cave!" Scarlet laughed, grinning despite the irritation plaguing her just a few seconds earlier.

"Snookums, are you alright? You just ran to your room and-" Jezebel began, already kicking off into a worried tirade.

The Incubus just nodded slowly and raised his hands.

"I'm alright, Mom. I just needed some time alone. Hey, do you know where Dad is?"

"He's just out back. But snookums-"

"Alright, thanks."

Breezing past them, he made his way to the back door and stepped out. The night air was surprisingly warm; summer was approaching soon, and that meant the annual heatwave was right around the corner.

Brass was out on the back porch, standing out of his wheelchair and leaning against the railing for support. He was gazing up at the stars, his chair sitting just a few feet away from him. Cobalt cleared his throat again, drawing his father's gaze.

"Heh. Thought I try stretchin' my legs. Hurts like a bitch, but the medical boys said I was ambula-somthin', so my legs technically still work. Ain't that somethin'?" Brass said, smiling despite the clear discomfort he was in.

"Ambulatory?" Cobalt ventured. shutting the door behind him.

"Yeah, that's the word."

"Dad, if it hurts then you really shouldn't-"

"Pshaw, don't you start treatin' me like I'm made of glass or nothin', son. I can take a lil' pain."

"Please, Dad."

Grabbing the handles of his wheelchair, he pushed it towards the old Incubus, who just dramatically rolled his eyes and collapsed into it. Rolling over to a spot on the porch where the moonlight hit the wooden deck, Brass pulled a pack of cigarettes from his battle jacket and lit one up.

"So," he asked, flipping his lighter around as smoke coiled around his head, "how are you findin' Brass Buckler?"

Cobalt leaned against the railing next to him.

"It's, uh... an interesting read."

"Tell me about it. I can see why Calvin never published it."

The Incubus smiled at his father's words before looking down at his hands.

"I've learned a couple of things, though."

"Mm-hm. And that lil' trick I taught you?" Brass asked, blowing a ring of smoke into the air.

Cobalt nodded slowly.

"It helps. A lot. I've been meditating on it in the evening. Helps keep the hunger pains down."

Brass smiled and playfully punched his son's shoulder, but before long a silence settled over the pair of them. He just sat in his wheelchair and calmly enjoyed the peaceful night sky, while Cobalt struggled with the question dancing on the tip of his tongue.

"Dad?" he ventured, his voice quivering.

"Yeah?" Brass asked, tapping ash out into the grass.

"... I had an experience today."

"What kind of-"

His father cut himself off upon noticing the look on Cobalt's face. He turned his gaze down and slowly nodded, processing everything that had been left unspoken.

"Well then. That's somethin'. Am I to be expectin' grandkids from you too, or...?"

"N- No, no, we didn't go that far!" he stammered.

"Alright, alright, I get it! Didn't mean to pry!"

He took a deep drag.

"You're into girls, right?" Brass asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It... was with a girl," Cobalt answered, shrugging his shoulders as his cheeks burned.

"All went well?"

"I- I think so."

"And you didn't go the full nine yards?"

"No. We stopped after I..."

He made a series of vague gesticulations, earning him a smile from his father.

"Heh. Ain't you a lil' gentleman."

"Dad!"

"I'm kiddin', I'm kiddin'!"

Settling back down, he clutched his cigarette between his teeth and reached up to put a hand on his son's shoulder.

"Listen, son. If you were both happy with it, and you don't regret it, then there's nothin' to worry about," he said, his jovial tone tinged with an edge of wisdom.

Cobalt nodded shakily.

"I just... I don't know what to do. Th- This is the first time this has ever happened."

"And you're feelin' scared?"

He looked away shamefully, only for Brass to sigh.

"Ain't nothin' to be frightened of, son. Intimacy can be fuckin' terrifyin'. Believe me; not everyone's first experience is pleasant."

Brass flicked away his burnt-out stub as he fished out a second cigarette. His son patiently waited for him to finish, watching as his face was illuminated in the lighter's flame.

"Y'know... when I met your mom, I hated bein' touched. Wouldn't even tolerate her brushin' a finger against me," he explained in a serious tone.

Cobalt just nodded, letting the older Incubus speak on his own time.

"And she understood. Let me work things out in my own time. Heh, for the longest time I thought I was gonna be a lone rider, y'know? A free range drifter with nothin' or no-one to tie me down. Your mom understood that too. And even still, we'd meet up and talk and get coffee, and soon..."

His smile crooked.

"... I found myself gettin' closer to her. And before long, Jezzy's touch didn't feel quite so bad."

Brass blew a long stream of smoke into the air.

"Point is, it's perfectly natural to be confused and even a lil' scared. Happened to me, happened to your mom, happens to basically everybody. But don't let that stop you from bein' happy, y'hear? If this partner of yours makes you feel good in the ways that matters, then don't hesitate in takin' the plunge," he explained, tracing shapes in the air with the burning end of his cigarette.

The Incubus stared down at his feet.

"And what if I'm bad for her? What if she would be better off without me?"

"Fuck 'em."

"Wh- What?"

He looked up at his father to find him peering back, his eyes burning amber in the dim light.

"Fuck 'em," Brass repeated.

"Dad, what do you mean?" asked Cobalt.

"I don't know who or what's blowing that kinda smoke into your head, but whatever's makin' you think that; fuck 'em. You're a good kid. A good man. Don't let nothin' make you think you ain't worth anyone's time."

He just stared as Brass rolled towards him, hand reaching up to touch his shoulder.

"Y'know, cobalt is a Hell of a rare metal, son. Valuable, too. Makes you think, don't it?" he said with a smile and a wink.

Cobalt just stared at his father. Once again, with just a few words, Brass Trayer somehow managed to settle his worries and doubts. As his words of reassurance washed over him, he felt a familiar stinging in his eyes, spurring him to take a sharp breath and try not to cry. Brass noticed this and sighed, stubbing his cigarette out on the arm of his wheelchair.

"Your grandfather - my pops - was my hero. Darius Trayer. He was an Oni, but he never got mad at me, or no-one who deserved it. Always gave it to me straight, too. He said to me 'Brass, you're a Trayer man. And Trayer men never cry, you got it?'"

He nodded his head.

"I loved my father, but that was maybe the one piece of garbage advice he ever gave me. Cry if you gotta, son. I'll hold you 'til you're done."

Like a sluice had been opened, hot tears began to pour down Cobalt's face. He fell to his knees and hugged his father tight, silently crying as he held him close. Brass patted his back, murmuring reassurances to him as his voice vibrated through his chest. He smelled of smoke and aftershave.

"I- I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm-"

"Quit with that. Just let it out."

Sniffling, Cobalt nodded and shut his eyes.

"... I love you, Dad."

"I love you too, Cobalt."