Endlessly

"Boys? Wake up, it's time for dinner!" Joyce barges into Jack's room at 6pm. Jack and Alex have been asleep all day, and the demon knows what that means. When she met Bassam, she didn't leave her room for days.

"Not hungry...get out." Jack groans back, before rolling over so his back faces the door.

"Jack Bassam, don't think for a second that I won't go get a bucket of ice water. Up, now. You two need to keep your strength up, especially right now."

Alex yawns, pushing himself up. A baby coo escapes his mouth. "She's right, Jack. Come on."

"I'm glad someone in this house finally agrees with me." Joyce rolls her eyes, giving Jack a pointed look.

Alex nudges Jack until he moves into a sitting position.

"Alright, alright. We'll be down in a few minutes." Satisfied, she smiles gratefully at Alex and returns downstairs where her husband is calling. "Mornin', Angel." He drawls, rubbing his eyes. Slowly, his memory returns to him and last night is clear in the forefront of his mind. "Sleep well?"
Alex nods, rubbing his hands on his boxers. "Yeah, I think so. I'm still tired, though."

"I bet you are." He hides his smirk. "I mean, you're still recovering. It makes sense that you want to sleep more. We can come back to bed after we eat, alright? But right now, you might want to change, unless you planned on going downstairs in your dirty boxers."

Alex raises an eyebrow. "I just changed last night. All I need is to borrow some of your clothes."

"About that...you might want to check your pants." Jack refrains from laughing as Alex throws his head under the blankets and sees what Jack is talking about.

"What did you do to me?" Alex growls angrily.

"I didn't do anything. It's more about what you did to me." When Alex peaks his head out, face commanding 'no nonsense,' Jack elaborates. "Remember what I did last night? After I came back here?"

"As much as I have been trying to forget, yes."

"And you remember how turned on you got?" Alex's blush serves as an answer. "Well, since you refused to let me get you off, your body decided to take care of your needs in your sleep." He leans toward Alex's ear as if he has a secret. "You humped my leg like a whore until you came. I have to say, you look hot when you're all desperate like that."

Alex's face is so red that it begins to take on a purplish tint. For a second, Jack isn't even sure if he's breathing or not. He's about to force Alex to when the angel jumps out of bed, pacing and covering his face with his hands. "Fuck, I'm so sorry Jack. That's not supposed to be able to happen. Damn it, I have to go ask for forgiveness! Where are clothes I can wear?"

"Take your pick from my closet. And um, I don't know too much about prayer and such, but can't you just do it like...anywhere?" Jack scratches the back of his head.

The sound of hangers sliding across a metal bar fills the room "Do you really want me to summon God in a house of demons?"

Jack's quiet for a second. "Point taken. Can you at least stay for dinner first though? I'll take you to wherever you need to go after. I know my parents won't be too keen on letting you go until you eat."

"Why do they even care? And is this okay?" Alex holds out a light blue t-shirt with red lettering for Jack to inspect.

"Yeah, fine. I told you you can take whatever. And just because their demons doesn't mean they're heartless. I also have my suspicions that they’re being told what to do just as much as you and I are."

Alex doesn't answer for a few minutes, probably still agitated about last night and what Jack has told him happened. And when Alex comes out of Jack's closet it's the demon's turn to be silent because wow he did not think it through when he told Alex to wear his clothes.

Alex has found one of Jack's oldest pair of jeans that he stopped wearing ages ago since they hugged him in all the wrong places. On Alex however, they look perfect. It's like he's meant to wear them, and Jack feels more than inclined to fuck him in them.

Jack doesn't even notice how uncomfortable Alex becomes. "I-Is there something wrong? I'll change if you want me to-"

"No!" Jack exclaims. "You just...you look really fucking hot, Alex."

Anything sexual must make Alex blush, Jack thinks.

"Let's just go downstairs." He murmurs. "The sooner we eat the sooner we can go." Alex turns and walks out of the room without an answer from Jack, but almost immediately stops outside of it until Jack catches up. "You should probably show me the way." He grumbles in defeat. Jack holds back smug laughter and does as told.

The smell of macaroni and cheese hovers outside the dining room, where his parents are already sitting and waiting, laughing to each other and sipping red wine. Sometimes Jack loves his parents, especially when they - or more likely the house chef, as Jack's parent rarely cook - make his favorite meal. "We were about to start without you! Come in and sit down!" Joyce exclaims warmly, looking at a spot in between the boys. Jack takes that as a sign that he was right about them being forced into this. Beneath the jolly exterior she portrays, Jack can just see the way she shifts uncomfortably at the thought of an angel sitting at her table and dining with her family. Alex sits opposite of Bassam without even being told, as if he too can feel the awkward tension Joyce is desperately trying to hide. In fact, Jack is almost positive he picks up on it; his back is stick straight and he looks at the table uneasily.

Besides Alex, everyone fills their plates until they can't fit another noodle on it. The angel stays quiet and looks at his lap, almost as if he's begging for everyone to say nothing. "Alex, you can serve yourself. Take as much as you want - you need nutrients."

He bites his lip, as if sizing up the food. "It won't bite, Angel." Jack teases.

Alex rolls his eyes and his stature relaxes a bit. "I know that." He snaps back, then turning his attention to the Barakat parents. "I'm sorry that you made the lovely-looking meal for Jack and I, but I can't eat this."

Suddenly everything clicks in Jack's mind, and he slams his hand on his forehead. "Fuck."

"Are you lactose-intolerant?" Joyce asks.

"Not exactly. I-"

"He's a vegan." Jack butts in, not even bothering to look at Alex; he can already picture the annoyed face he's making.

"'Fuck' is right. You couldn't have told us that any earlier?" Bassam says flatly. "Andrew!" He calls.
A tall, skinny man in a chef's hat comes running in. "Sir? What can I get for you?"

"Please make us something vegan for our guest. Jack forgot to warn us about his friend's eating habits. And while you're at it, another bottle of sweet red would be delightful."

"Of course, no problem." Andrew's voice is low and smooth, the kind that could lull Alex right to sleep if he talked long enough.

Bassam smiles at the man. "And make it as quick as possible. We don't want Alex here to starve."

Andrew nods before turning his head to Alex. "Anything specific?"

Alex shrugs. "A salad is quick and easy." Andrew smiles at him gratefully before turning back towards the door he came from.

"But make sure it's balanced! Lots of protein and croûtons!" Joyce shouts after him. Andrew simply gives her a thumbs up so she knows he heard. "I'm sorry, Alex. Next time we'll make sure to have something that suits your needs." She gives a chilled look at Jack, and when the demon refuses to look up from his meal, Alex has to hold off a chuckle.

The boys stay quiet through their meal as Joyce and Bassam continuously get louder and drunker. Alex is too busy taking in the room around him to say much. The dining room is probably bigger than his entire house; the table they dine at looks comically small in it. Alex would guess this is more of a ballroom than eating area. "How big is this house?" The angel can't hide his awe.

"Big enough." Joyce laughs, a swell of pride making her glow. "It was modeled after Victorian castles. The foyer is slightly bigger than this, and we also have a living room, full kitchen, and two guest bedrooms with private bathrooms. On the second floor is Bassam's and my room, Jack's room, the workout room, Bassam's office, and the laundry room. The attic is our servant's quarters. We have about ten full-time staff members that are offered room and board when they work for us. And our basement has a game room and a pool and hot tub."

Alex is silent, unsure of how to respond. Sure, it's an amazing house, but how can three people need this much? It seems like such a waste. There's room in here for at least one hundred to live - the entirety of the residents at the soup kitchen he volunteers at.

"Don't make me pick your jaw off the floor." Jack jokes and squeezes his thigh, mentally begging him not to make a scene about this.

"Well, it's absolutely..." The boy bites his lip, trying to find a word for it. "Incredible."

Once dinner is finished, dessert is changed at the last minute from a decadent cake and ice cream to a fresh, sweet fruit salad. Jack takes a glass of wine as well, but Alex objects to drinking anything more than water.

"So, I assume you two had an excellent night last night?" Joyce winks as she takes her first bite of the salad.

Alex raises an eyebrow, but Jack simply rolls his eyes. "No, mom. Angels wait, remember?" Alex only catches on after Jack responds, and he immediately takes a great interest in his dessert, not daring to look up and show anyone his burning cheeks. "Look, you're already embarrassing him!" Jack chastises.

Joyce waves her son off. "Oh, he's fine. He should probably get used to it considering he'll be spending a lot of time with us in the future. But really, I could hear you screaming last night. You can't tell me you did nothing."

Jack's the first one to notice Alex's hand tightening around his fork, going snow white against the silver. He removes his hand and tries not to look at him.

"We didn't, mother. We were talking and things got a bit out of hand. We will be waiting until after we're binded to engage in any...bedroom activities." Jack's never been one to get embarrassed over sex - demons in general are very open about sin, of course. Their current dinner conversation is only a tip of the iceberg. However, sitting here with Alex after last night and talking about it with his parents...it makes his skin crawl.

"And how long do you suppose we'll be waiting for that?"

"3 months." Alex whispers, still refusing to look up.

Jack watches both of his parents' jaws drop. "3 months?" Joyce laughs. "You, Jack Barakat, who hasn't gone more than a week without sex in years, is going to wait 3 months to get binded and fuck?" Even Bassam is trying to hide his laughter.

He can feel the shock radiating off of Alex, but he does his best to ignore it. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I am. Is that a problem?"

Joyce fans herself to stop from crying. "Of course not, dear."

"$100 says he gets Alex to give in." Bassam mutters, which only starts Joyce back up with laughter.

"Alright, we're going!" Jack shouts, utterly uncomfortable with the whole situation. He grabs Alex's hand and pulls him up. The angel is too happy to comply, instantly taking Jack's hand and joining him in walking towards where (hopefully) the front door is.

"Where have you got to go?" Bassam calls after them.

Jack stops just before they disappear from his parents' view and turns to face them. "We're going to go pray."

And that might just be the biggest shock of his parents' lives.