Chapter Text
There are a few things Ryou has to get used to when it comes to dating a demon. First and foremost, Malik has never done this whole ‘relationship’ thing and, as such, is very, very hesitant about showing Ryou just how malleable his form is.
It’s a slow process, but Ryou eventually gets to see that he can eat pretty much anything - he eventually just spits it back out since he can’t digest anything besides biological matter very well. He can shapeshift into other people, and with some gentle prodding, manages to almost completely imitate Ryou, except the roots of his hair are still pitch black and his teeth are a little too sharp. He explains that he doesn’t like doing this; it’s too boring to pretend to be someone else. Ryou is fine with the various ways Malik’s body can distort and shift, but he can’t bring himself to kiss the mirror Malik has created, so he says he’s fine with that.
Over the weeks, Malik gets more and more abstract as he gets comfortable, devolving to just a blob on Ryou’s couch at multiple points as he naps. They make love and it’s bizarre to feel two, even three mouths nipping and kissing different parts of his body all at once, feeling four, six hands tracing the bones of his ribs and holding him down by his wrists and ankles, but it’s also exhilarating. Malik is eager to tease and gentle but firm, and Ryou can’t get enough.
He decides, wrapped in the shadowy facsimile of spines and hands and eyes, that Malik’s initial assessment on their first meeting is maybe accurate after all - he is a bit of a freak.
One morning, he hears, “’Abyad qalbi?” Malik’s voice is echo-y and surreal. He’s definitely not bothering with a human physique this morning.
“Yes?”
“Do you love me?”
Ryou smiles and nuzzles into his pillow with a mumbled, “Mmhm.”
Malik pauses for a moment. “Would you still love me if I was a worm?”
Ryou opens his eyes to ask Malik why he'd ask something so silly and comes face to face with the sharp maw of a shadowy, skeletal snake-worm-thing. It has so many eyes, golden and glowing, and it’s wrapped around his body, twirling around his legs, his shoulders, and between his thighs. “You’re a dork,” Ryou says affectionately, leaning in to kiss jagged teeth and laughing as Malik squeezes him in response.