Page 60 of Demons Dig Donuts

Dammit!

Had Mr. Heiss been a human being, it would have been a huge red flag. But for a demon, a merciless monstrosity whose entire race was defined by its fantastical and often clever cruelty, it was kind of sweet.

Then again, Mr. Heiss had also tried to cut his hand off.

So, yeah, fuck him.

Indy removed his shoes so he could crawl into the big bed with a loud groan. He kicked back the covers and buried himself in the army of pillows. He closed his eyes, his body sore and bones heavy. He’d been going hard for so long all day that he hadn’t fully processed how exhausted he was.

Found a magical ring, kidnapped by a demon, kidnapped by more monsters, and oh yeah, might be fucking dying.

Except there was no might be.

He was dying.

Actively.

And there was nothing he could do about it right now except wait and hope.

Hope was something he’d given up when he first received his terminal diagnosis. There was no hope to be had when his life literally had an expiration date on it like he was a bottle of fucking milk. It was why he’d chosen to live to the fullest, excessively so, to make the most of what he had left.

Because hope was stupid.

So fucking stupid.

But then why had he gone looking for Gammy’s books…?

Why had he tried so hard to find a way to keep living a little longer? Wasn’t his search in itself a form of hope because he’d been hoping to not die so young? Maybe it was the idea that people used hope as an excuse instead of actively doing something to get whatever it was they wanted.

Sitting around and hoping for good things to happen was dumb.

Going out and fighting for them was everything.

Indy had been willing to sell his soul to keep himself from dying. There wasn’t much he wouldn’t do, which made the current situation with Mr. Heiss especially dangerous. He could not like that asshole. Nope. Not even a little. It didn’t matter if hanging out with Mr. Heiss today had been the longest amount of time that he’d spent with anyone not Gammy in years or that he had actually enjoyed parts of it. It was totally inconsequential that Mr. Heiss was really fun to talk shit with or that thinking about his sharp smile or his hot touch sent shivers down Indy’s spine.

If Indy let his guard down, he could lose it all.

His home, his future, his life.

Lonely as it was, it was still his.

And it was all he had.

“And Tanze?”

“Refusing to leave Underwood’s side. But good.”

“If he can get out of bed to watch over him, then he can work.”

“I’ll… I’ll see what I can do.”

“Now.”

“Yes, boss.”

Indy woke to the soft sounds of voices in another room. He recognized them as Mr. Heiss and Azazel. He didn’t open his eyes yet, far too comfortable to move or give any indication he was awake. He wasn’t sure exactly where the two demons were, but it seemed like they were close.

Maybe over in the living room or that weird library room.