Tap. Tap. Tap. 

His sharp claw went against the table. 

Waiting for her was dreadfully boring. His mate had better get here before he lost control and razed a city or something. After the excitement that was meeting his mate, the morning after seemed boring. 

His mate, Lina, was nothing like he expected. Quiet and reserved, she was the antithetical of him. Not to mention, incredibly—almost painfully naive and kind. While he was grateful to be welcomed in her home, he was worried what it could mean for her. If she’d let in a demon like him and even nursed him back to health, who knew who else she could mistakenly trust. 

She was too innocent to be engulfed by him and his cruel world but he was too selfish to think of anything otherwise. Nothing would keep him apart from his mate now that he’d finally found her. That was why she had to get here soon or he’d start thinking the worst. 

Luckily, before he could do anything he’d regret, the door knob shook, indicating her arrival. 

“Hello,” she says.

He grunts in return. He’d have to work on his communication skills if he was gonna successfully ensare his mate. He stands to help her put the bags of groceries on her dinner table and unpack everything. Lina had been gone for most of the morning running errands and that simply wouldn’t do. He couldn’t just let his mate do everything. No demon worth their salt would allow their mate to suffer backbreaking work. No, he’d have to pull his weight as his mate so aptly said.

In the meantime, he tries to engage with her. Surely a demon of his caliber and centuries of experience wouldn’t struggle under such an easy task. 

“How did your morning fare?”

“Good,” she responds simply.

He was glad his mate was no simpering fool, but he certainly wasn’t over the moon that she was very restrained and aloof, either, especially to him. Her very mate! It wasn’t a pleasant thought.

He clears his throat.

“Is there anything I can assist you with?”

“Actually, yes,” she says as if there was very little he could help her with. He grumbles internally. This wasn’t a good start.

“Can you please wash these vegetables? I’m going to make stew.”
He dutifully follows his mate’s commands. After washing all the vegetables clean and spotles, he begins cutting the vegetables as she later instructs. They continue working in a silent harmony like they’d done this before. They had never, but the way he slots so easily into Lina’s life and routine like he belonged there (because he did) satisfied his not-so-easily-satisfied demon. He had hoped to make some conversation with his mate and ingratiate himself to her, but alas his mate didn’t seem to be in a talkative mood.

After some time, they finish cooking. Lina had done the bulk of the work. As a demon, he wasn’t used to cooking meals as he ate simply, that is, raw meat. But he would have to learn more than frying up strips of meat as he had done yesterday. Again, he couldn’t let his mate maintain the household and provide sustenance, otherwise what did he bring to the table.

They sit down to eat. In her small table of four, he sits across from her. With her head bent down, occupied with distributing the stew into two bowls, he seizes his chance to gaze at her. Lina’s beauty could rival the radiance of the sun itself. Her skin is a touch fairer than olive and her eyes tell a story of…He quickly glances away before she could notice his staring. She passes him a bowl and eating utensils.
Somehow his mate had transformed the grimy vegetables grown in dirt and who knew what into a magical, hearty soup of meat and succulent cubes of vegetables. 

His mate may not be a demon, but she clearly had a magical touch.

“So…” finally, his mate breaks her silence, “I was wondering when you were planning to work.”

Work?
From his centuries of observing human kind, he knew they didn’t follow a simple life. They loved to work for food and shelter instead of procuring such things themselves. He didn’t like the idea of being so far from his mate for such a long time. But he would have to adopt the life of a human male as his mate knew him.
He didn’t yet know how to start “work,” so he kept his answer vague. “I will obtain such a position somehow.”
His mate nods, satisfied with his answer.
“What is your profession?” he asks. Maybe now she wouldn’t mind opening up to him. She finishes chewing before responding. His eyes once again fall to her luscious lips and track down to her exposed throat.

“I’m a librarian.”

Her voice breaks him from his impassioned thoughts. Oh, that was better than he could ever hope for. As a librarian, she would be kept safe and sound and away from the madness of humans and everything else. Not that being a keeper of books was unremarkable. No, it wasn’t so! To preserve the knowledge and wisdom of her ancestors was a noble pursuit.

“Where are you planning to apply?” Lina asks curiously.

Now of all times, his mate chose to be conversational, asking the most frustrating questions that he had no idea how to answer.

“I will inquire in many places,” he says, hoping his response made sense.

She continues her probing, “is there anywhere specific you want to work in?”

Perhaps, he should’ve done more than just observing the humans, he should’ve assimilated to human society like some of his demon kind. Then he would understand his mate better. Though he loathe to think about it, he might have to resort to asking one of his kin for counsel.

“I believe one of my kin resides nearby, I suppose I will ask him for some assistance.”

If he were to freely admit requiring help to another demon, he’d be met with scorn and assumed weak and pitiful. But his mate isn’t anything of that sort, so he divulges her of his thoughts, unafraid and vulnerable.
Lina simply smiles and they continue enjoying their meal.