Sugary Sweet Talks (Tag: Anna)

"I haven't." Axel said honestly. "Anna, I'm a demon. What do you expect?"

He was a demon. The most people saw him for was a one night stand. Or someone too dangerous to get to know, let alone do a cliché 'meet the family' thing. He was the textbook definition of someone your parents would disapprove of. Demon? Check. Bartender? Check. Tattoos? Check. Big ass motorcycle and leather jacket? Double check. Anna was the first and only person who treated his species like talking about the weather. It was refreshing. His species had always been a hindrance in his life. He had to work some really shitty jobs before he opened his own place. In school, teachers had looked down on him. In a romantic life, partners were just flings. He had gotten good at staying closed off.

He folded his hands in front of him as he watched her to keep himself from fidgeting. He was so used to having something else around to distract him, namely making other drinks or cleaning glasse. This was leaving him with nothing to focus on but her. Which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. She really did have a radiant smile. Her sunny disposition made it hard to be distant or 'grouchy' around her. She simply wouldn't allow it until everyone else around her was smiling too.

Axel had to take a deep breath and hold it. Otherwise, he might have exhaled some smoke. Which was fine in a bar setting but he had a feeling the Seddon family wouldn't take too kindly to his 'smoking' habit. Also, they probably had better smoke alarms here than he did in his bar because no one liked burnt bread. He couldn't help the fact he felt a surge of anger over the way others had treated her. But humans could be cruel. Actually, anyone could be cruel as long as they took a breath. Some were simply vindictive to the point of bordering evil.

"Anna, they shouldn't have treated you like that. You're not a freak and you're not a loser. I don't want to hear you talking about yourself that way, got it memorized?" Axel told her. "I can't apologize enough for them, but I won't hurt you."

He wouldn't hurt her, not intentionally. He had gotten good at controlling his temper, though his lapses did happen around her, he felt that he could control his fires. He ached because she was hurting and had been hurt. It also explained her hesitance to jump into something like this. She was afraid of getting her heart broken again. It made sense. Lots of people were. He even watched his patrons dance around their feelings for someone. Shadow had fallen for his partner and never told her. Now the girl was with someone else. They were getting married. There was also his main singer at the bar, who had fallen for a faery. Now, he took his feelings by the reigns and fessed up, but it was on the faery to respond in kind.

Axel had tried to be as transparent as he could about his feelings towards her. No secrets. Just showing how he felt without directly saying it due to Anna's discomfort with it. He didn't treat her any differently. He didn't declare his undying love. Sure, fire demons were passionate creatures but Axel wasn't one for show boating or public declarations. But Anna needed the sweet nothings if her past lovers didn't treat her right. She needed reassurances and taking things at her pace. Granted, their impulsive kisses the night before had a good effect. It at least got them talking about this.

"But look at it this way, do you think you would want to be stuck with those asshats? Yeah, they hurt you, but they were never worth your time in the first place."

Let alone the same oxygen she breathed, but that was Axel's anger burning through and he wasn't going to voice that aloud.

"We'll do this at your pace." Axel said.

It's how he had been playing it so far. Aside from their impromptu kiss, he had been a perfect gentleman - mostly. But that had been when she confessed she liked him and then tried to run away. He also doubted that many 'gentlemen' would fall asleep on the couch with the girl they happened to like a lot. He closed his eyes, willing away the anger he felt towards the people who hurt her and tried to think of something that wouldn't make his skin feel like touching molten rock. Namely her. She was willing to give this a shot, which was more than he could have hoped for. That thought alone smothered the heat of anger.

He would have to be more careful around her, to make sure he didn't burn her on accident, but it seemed this time, they would be okay. He didn't think he burned her when she touched is hand. At least she wasn't showing any signs of discomfort. Still, he would rather not have to dunk his hands in a bucket of ice every time he got even the slightest bit angry. Or have to go take a walk every time he had to let off a little steam. He would need an outlet for fire, something he would have to look into at a later date.

"Careful," he chided, "I don't want to burn you."

Anna seemed to cut off any comment or anything he had to say on the subject by kissing him. He wasn't about to complain. At this point, he was taking this all as a positive sign that things could continue on, even if they were slower for Anna's sake. He kissed back, as if trying to silently promise her he wasn't going to be like the other guys. He wouldn't leave her. He wouldn't lead her on. He wasn't just trying to sleep with her and move on, counting her as another notch in his bedpost.

Anna had inspired feelings in him he hadn't had in quite some time and he wouldn't just throw that aside. With her hands still laced with his, he decided to squeeze them back now, lightly, but to reassure her. It was the first time she had kissed him after all. Instead of him kissing her. It had to take a lot on her part, considering she had just confessed how others had treated her poorly. Here he thought his respect and adoration for her could not grow.

Sweet and gentle. Not something Axel typically did, but he was trying for Anna. Still, things were going to be interesting once people realized the good medical examiner was seeing someone like him. He was not exactly someone you wanted to bring home to the parents. He smoked - literally. He drank heavily. He had tattoos, wore a leather coat and had a motorcycle. All of that without even going into his species or how he looked physically. It didn't make sense how the two of them connected, and yet, they had. He supposed emotions had no sense in logic. He was happy that she was giving him a chance after all of this.

"You're killing me here," he complained without venom.

He never thought cute could be in his vocabulary but he couldn't help but look at her and think that. She was adorable. Comparable to cavity inducing sweetness. He could get quickly addicted to that. She could be a salvation and ruin all at once, but like all demons, he couldn't stay away from dangerous things. He was no stranger when it came to playing with fire.

"Oh don't worry, I'm just getting started," he said.

If she wanted to try teasing a demon like him, she would quickly learn it was something that could get her burned. Though, it could be quite fun if they would make a game of it. He wondered just how much teasing she would be able to handle. That being said, nothing bad would really come from teasing him. Just things like his impromptu kiss like yesterday. She hadn't seemed to regret that. There was only so much taunting a fire demon could take since they were those with shorter tempers and not as much patience as others.

"I accept your challenge, sweetheart."

So a game it was going to be. Taunting, teasing and just enjoying their newfound relationship. He could take that. He already liked spending time with her. This would just be more reason to be around her.