Taming A Demon's Heart

~Showtime!~

Recap:
He felt his face heat up as he examined her facial features.
What is this emotion? He thought to himself, confused. Jackal found himself leanining closer, and soon he felt her warm, minty breath on his face...
Lucy shifted, stirring in her sleep. An alarmed Jackal backed away, surprised at the sudden movement and stood up, with a shudder. He went back to bed, completely forgetting about the glass of water he desired.
The sun rose into the crisp morning sky, as Lucy woke up with a yawn. Stretching, Lucy made her way to her room to change. In her room, Jackal was sound asleep, sprawled out on the bed with a missing shirt.
"Jackal.." Lucy called, gently shaking the sleeping demon. He mumbled in his sleep, turning over with a grunt. "Jackal..." Lucy repeated, shaking him a bit more harshly. Once again, he refused to be woken up, shifting his position. Lucy let out an annoyed sigh and jumped on the demon's turned back, lightly digging her elbow into his spine, strong enough to startle him.
"What the hell!" He screamed, jolting out of bed. He rubbed his back, groaning.
"Should've woken up the first time!" Lucy said in a singsong tone. "You're coming to work with me, remember?" She tossed his green, sleeveless sweater vest at him and left.
"Fucking bitch." Jackal grumbled in an irritated tone, slipping on the wool fabric.
After they both were dressed, Lucy grabbed her bag and left with Jackal trailing behind in slow, trudging movements. As they walked, a young girl carelessly ran into the demon's leg.
"Sorry, mister!" She apologized politely. A strange, disgusted look painted Jackal's face as the child's expression melted into fear. His arms started glowing as if he was going to harm her.
"Jackal!" Lucy shouted, taking the girl's spot. She placed her hands on his shoulders and glared straight back at him. "You're trying to be reformed, Jackal. Normal people don't attack children." She warned, tightening her grip. With an annoyed grunt, Jackal looked away and stopped the explosion. Lucy's expression softened.
"Thank you, Jackal." She said with a smile. Glancing down at her watch, she realized she was late. Grabbing Jackal's hand, she dashed in a panic with the demon behind her.
"Sorry I'm late!" Lucy shouted, bursting through the doors with deep breaths.
"Lucy! You're here! Who's with you?" Jason asked, his camera ready to snap pictures of everything.
"This is Jackal." She told the blond reporter, urging Jackal forward.
"Coooooooooool!" He exaggerated his word as he snapped multiple photos of the former Tartaros villain. "Why is he here anyways?" Jason asked.
"I'm reforming him for the council and I decided it would be good for him to tag along." Lucy explained with a small smile.
"Lucy always looks really good in the pictures, she's real popular!" Jason whispered to Jackal while Lucy was led away by makeup artists.
"Is that so?" Jackal replied, uninterested as he sat down on a chair awaiting Lucy's return.
The blond mage came back wearing a pale pink lingerie with pearl chains connecting the top to the bottom. Her hair was tied back into two long side ponytails and pink lipstick painted her small lips.
"How do I look?" Lucy asked in a teasing tone, striking a playful pose. Jackal shrugged, looking away from the daring apparel she wore. The blonde demon dozed off in his seat, bored and exhausted.
About an hour passed and flashing lights still surrounded Lucy while Jackal woke up in a daze in his seat.
"Lucy, you're free to go now!" Jason cheered as Lucy got off of the white backdrop. After changing, Lucy gently shook the sleepy demon into a more lively state. With a large yawn and stretch of his arms, Jackal woke up and got up from his chair.
"We leaving now?" He asked, his voice still slurring with drowsiness.
"I gotta talk to Jason first, then we can leave." Lucy promised, awkwardly approaching the overly optimistic photographer. "Jason? Can I talk to you about my job?"
"Sure, whatcha need?" He asked with a bright smile.
"Well... When I asked for a job here, I kind of wanted an editing or journalist job, not really an underwear model..." Lucy confessed awkwardly, looking down at her feet. The reporter looked at her, stunned by what he had heard but a smile spread on his face after a moment.
"I'll see what I can do." He promised, seeing Lucy's determination through her embarrassed stance.
A few days came and passed and Lucy patiently awaited for a reply on her request. She gazed out the window, her heart racing as she saw the mailman come to her house. Just as the mail man was going to open the mail slot, Lucy opened the door and snatched the mail in a hurry.
"Thank you, sir!" She called as the surprised mailman left her porch. Lucy dashed into the living room, dumping the envelopes on the coffee table. Among the plain white envelopes, one was pale pink and had the Sorcerer's Weekly seal on it. Enclosed was Lucy's paycheck and a letter that read:
Hey, Lucy...
In the envelope is your last paycheck...
As an underwear model!
I checked in with my boss and he has a journalist spot for you! We're partners now, so it's gonna be cooool! Your new job starts in a month so make sure you rest up!
-Jason
Lucy's face was red and she cried in joy. Jackal, who was watching the whole event, sighed and rolled of the couch.
"Congrats, I guess." He said, his voice filled with boredom and distaste.
"What's wrong, Jackal?" Lucy asked, a teasing hint in her voiced as she tickled the demon's exposed stomach. He flailed around, holding in laughter. When they stopped fooling around, he confessed.
"This place gets boring day after day." He complained, going on about how he felt cramped.
"You're right! Don't worry though, we have an entire month to do all sorts of fun things!" She comforted.
"Can I blow stuff up?" Jackal asked hopefully, a violent gleam in his golden eyes.
"N-O." Lucy spelled out. "We can go shopping today and buy a bed for you now!" She realized, holding out her paycheck boldly.
"Oh? Your pink bed was growing on me though." Jackal joked in regards to Lucy's pastel pink covers.
"Then I suppose you won't mind if I get you a pink bed?" Lucy threatened in reply, her voice had a light and cheerful undertone despite her mockingly angry tone.
"Never mind!" Jackal quickly said, recovering from Lucy's comeback. "I actually would prefer a hammock or somethin'" The demon confessed.
"Huh? A hammock? Why?" Lucy asked, confusion clouding her eyes.
"No reason in particular, just saves space." Jackal said nonchalantly.
"I guess we could hang one up in the living room, somehow..." Lucy promised as the two left, locking the door behind them.
After buying a hammock, the pair made their way home. The sun had long receded behind the horizon by the time they reached Lucy's home when they heard a soft cry. Jackal's ears twitched at the whimper.
"It's from there!" He shouted, pointing at a small group of shrubs. The plants rustled violently, causing the wizards to tense up, prepared for everything and anything. A small dog limped from the shrubbery, it had gray fur with patches of brown, from its appearance. Underneath the young animal's matted fur was a bright red collar, wrapped around its neck. Jackal's shoulders relaxed and sympathy shined in his golden eyes. He crouched down, eye level to the fluffy dog and offered a gentle smile. Lucy smiled, her heart beating rapidly. She had never seen this side of Jackal, clearly unaware he could be so gentle. The demon reached out, attempting to put his hand on the dog's head. At first the dog flinched, hesitating before sniffing Jackal's outstretched hand and wagging its short tail. With extreme care, Jackal picked up the pup, still wearing a gentle expression.
"Hey, can we take care of him? We can find his owner tomorrow." Jackal asked Lucy. She nodded, her heart still swelling with a new feeling she never felt towards Jackal. Once they entered the house, the two filled up a large oval shaped bucket with warm water, gently putting the dog in the bucket. Almost immediately, the water turned a dark, murky brown revealing the dog's snow white fur. After rinsing their temporary companion, they refilled the tub with clean water and got soap, beginning a good scrub down. Lucy rolled up her sleeves and gently stroked the dog, removing excess dirt and any fleas. Jackal picked up the sparkling clean dog and wrapped him in a towel, holding him close to his body, keeping it warm. After this, they began the brushing and grooming process. Once the strenuous work was completed, they checked its collar for a name, finding 'Yuki'.
"Yuki, huh? How cute!" Lucy commented, petting the soft dog. As they put him down to play, Yuki winced from the pressure on his paw. One of his paws was sprained.
"I'll get the first aid kit from your room." Jackal said, quickly jumping from his crouching position and running across the living room.
In Lucy's room, he quickly grabbed the kit under her bed when he noticed something. Behind a fabric scroll mural across her wall, a bulletin board peeked out from the corner. Quietly, Jackal took down the mural and discovered something that sent a pang of an unknown emotion through his chest. He found a tear drip from the corner of his eyes.
"So, you found it?" Lucy asked, looking down at the floor as she bit her bottom lip.
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Look who's alive! I finally have stable wifi! More writing ayyyy