As soon as he flipped the light switch, he saw how Lantis suddenly showed up in his lounge, reading a book from the coffee table. June only took off his coat and hung it on the rack before dislodging his keys and wallet on the bowl nearby the door. He had his back to the demon, but he was sure that Lantis was looking in his direction.
The demon closed his book, the movement loud enough for June to catch. With a smile on his lips, he spoke, "Sweet child, tell me of your destructive desire. Let me decide on the fate of another."
"…nothing condemning." June turned to settle on the couch next to Lantis. He then leaned his arms on his knees. "He took advantage of the scene and made me look so bad. I'm not even bitter about me leaving, but that article is making me angry. They released the news that I was leaving Wings, and they even made it look like I was… well, wait, I am blaming Reed for it…"
"No, that man was just so opportunistic to take advantage of a talent that was losing his dignity." Lantis only hummed, balancing the book on its spine on top of his palm. "The article aimed to deceive the masses about your intentions of leaving. The person behind it made it so that you were guilty of envy and jealousy toward such a human. Sweet child, are you sure you want to let him off gently?"
June only smiled with half of his lips. He picked up the remote of the TV. "For the immediate damage it caused, yes. If he ends up doing more, then… I can always trust that you know where to find him."
A slight glint was on the demon's eyes before vanishing from June's side. When Lantis did, June didn't even take a look next to him. He just pulled his body back to lean on the couch while browsing for any good movie before he would start reheating whatever was in the fridge.
By then, he heard noises coming from the kitchen. When he turned in its direction, he could see that the light was not turned on. Yet, there were movements in the dark. Soon, even the stove was turned on. June got to his feet before cautiously walking toward the kitchen. His nose caught the faint aroma of the cooking meal, but he had no idea why a burglar would make dinner here.
"Hello?" June opened the door, and he saw a miniature human floating next to his stove. The creature had a normal-looking face, but his head has horns that swirl up like antlers. Taking a good look at it, its eyes were actually black stones that would reflect the light of the fire.
June didn't know how to react to finding such a thing. Unlike Lantis who was even a rather fine-looking gentleman, this thing was obviously out of place in this mortal realm that June was familiar with. Perhaps, he could see those in a movie, but…
Collapse! June's mind suddenly shut down. He fainted and hit the floor just as fast. Whether the creature noticed him and came to his aid, no one would know. June only hoped that it was not a true sight. He must be too exhausted or angry… whichever.
…
The smell of delicious food stirred him from his sleep. June's eyes flickered to register the view right in front of him. For some reason, it was his living room's ceiling. However, the lights were closed, and only the low sound of the TV mumbled in the background. When June turned to the TV, he saw that a channel was showing one of his first few movies. It was from the good days… before Reed came.
When he turned his head, he already mapped his body. His head was on someone's lap, while he was lying down across the couch. Instead of sitting up, June chose to roll to his side and savor the firmness of the thigh under his head.
He even closed his eyes after he saw expensive-looking food on the small center table. "Lantis, you're back already. How long was I out?"
"Eurkodach said about an hour before I arrived, just enough for him to finish dinner." Lantis laughed as he caressed June's shoulder. "You should eat them before they get cold. Eurko will be angry if I made him share his masterpieces with a human who wouldn't even eat them."
"Gosh, I did see something earlier…" June got up slowly, but he scooted close to Lantis as if the man even had body heat. The actor reached out and took a plate to start his dinner. Due to the perfect temperature and great taste, June even forgot to ask Lantis to join him.
Lantis only watched him eating while having a movie, which he starred in, play in the background. The demon reclined on the couch's arm as he felt happy seeing how the plates were being cleaned by the closet glutton. "June, don't be scared of Eurko next time. He's not sentient toward humans. Even if you met with an accident, he wouldn't care about you. However, he's in love with human cuisine."
At those words, June looked at Lantis with his mouth stuffed with the pasta. He chose to finish everything in his mouth first. "Is he part of your Castelli family of demons?"
"Not really. He does travel around the human world to cook for houses whose owners sleep through dinner out of exhaustion. I rarely catch him, but I can ask him to come every time you will need to cook dinner for yourself. However, he seemed to have broken through your neighbors' kitchens as your… cold food vault was empty, he said."
"My cold food vault? It's called a fridge." June then chuckled as he laughed. He didn't forget that Lantis was still learning things that had changed over the years that he was locked up. "Are you only translating his words, or should I think demons call human items quite differently?"
"We do have our own language." Lantis hummed as he sat up straight and reached out to comb through June's hair, which was messed up by sleeping on his lap. "June, if I arrange a wider place for you, will you take it? After all, this house… is quite too small for a mortal favored by a great demon such as me."
June chuckled as he reached out for the water and drank half the bottle first before shaking his head. He placed the cap back on the bottle. "The people might appear outside to inconvenience me, but I'm already comfortable living here for now. Moreover, if you bought me a condominium unit, what would they say? Let me just earn enough to buy one on my own."
At those words, Lantis smiled. June didn't catch it, but even if he did, he wouldn't think too much. After all, the man was enslaved by the people so much that Lucirien might beg for wishes to grant just to cope with his freedom. June didn't want a new house out of nowhere. He wanted something that would give him the liberty to move out of this stinky apartment.
"Then, I must oblige." Lantis caught June's back when the actor bounced and leaned on the couch. The demon invited June to lean on him, even, but the phone hooked to the wall started to ring. When he saw the urgency in June's eyes, the demon let him go.
June went to answer the home phone, knowing the only person who knew its number. "Mom?"