The Alpha's Pretend-Boyfriend

The Break-Up

Monday started off a bit rough with Fig making quite a loud entrance. While the rest of the staff had already begun with doing inventory, they heard a car screech out front and saw Fig get out of it. He was immediately followed and grabbed by the arm by a frazzled-looking beautiful lady in a blue dress. Louie couldn’t help but glance outside as they started shouting at each other, and soon enough, Germain was out of the kitchen and standing right next to Louie just to watch. Callie and Dane followed soon after. None of them could make out what Fig and his lady friend were heatedly talking about, but the demon looked angry. He kept trying to leave, but the woman kept stopping him until finally, Fig pushed her hand away, said something that may have been along the lines of “f**k off,” and angrily stomped into the restaurant.

As soon as he entered, Louie looked down at what he was doing out of respect, and Callie kept her head down as she went back into the kitchen. Germain and Dane, on the other hand, didn’t bother pretending not to have seen the commotion outside.

“You okay?” Dane asked as Fig threw his bag to the side. It was the first time that the flirty easygoing demon looked so pissed off—or at least, it was the first time Louie had seen him so.

“Yeah,” he muttered in reply, running his fingers through his hair in frustration. It was obvious that his morning had been rough, seeing as how he hadn’t even been able to style his hair into its usually sleek ‘do.

Dane only nodded and let it go, thinking that he would just ask Fig later once he calmed down. Germain, however, followed him into the staff room, only for Gadreel to appear beside him and pull him away. Gadreel merely shook his head and the vampire sighed and followed him back into the kitchen.

A weird silence took over the restaurant while Fig disappeared into the staff room. Louie glanced at Dane, who was sitting by the reception area, tapping away at the laptop.

“Who was that?” he couldn’t help but ask.

Dane looked around to make sure Fig wasn’t there before he answered in a whisper, “His current girlfriend. A fae.”

Louie made an O with his mouth and returned to work without asking any more questions. With how simultaneously open and intrusive everyone at Hestia’s were, he was sure he would find out about it sooner or later—and he bet that he would hear about it from the ever-gossipy Germain.

Out of all his assumptions, however, only the first one was right. Not a few minutes later, the door to the staff room banged wide open as Fig stepped out in his rage.

“Argh!” he angrily grunted, “Those damned Faes!”

Germain was the first to peek his head out of the kitchen. “What happened?” he asked without missing a beat. Dane stood up from where he sat, leaned by the service hatch across from the vampire, and looked at Fig as if he was ready to lend an ear.

“She—” Fig scoffed and paced around, looking like he couldn’t believe what just happened. “She’s been cheating on me with a goddamn goblin!”

“The audacity!” Germain gasped, and Dane nodded to agree.

“How did you find out?” Dane asked.

“I smelled the goblin’s stink from her clothes the last night, and then I had her tell me the truth,” Fig answered.

That made Gadreel appear out into the main hall and lean on the wall beside him. “You made her tell you the truth?” he repeated, his tone sounding quite judgmental.

“It wasn’t my proudest moment,” Fig admitted in a snarky manner.

“That’s very healthy for a relationship,” Gadreel muttered sarcastically, which made Germain narrow his eyes at him. “What?” the angel defensively asked the vampire. “I don’t use my powers to persuade you to be honest.”

“Oh my god, Gadreel, just shut it,” Germain rolled his eyes then turned back to Fig. “What are you planning to do now?”

“Well,” the demon sighed as he sat on the counter. “I already broke up with her.”

“Good riddance, right?” Dane gave his best encouraging smile as he walked towards Fig and put an arm around his shoulders.

“I’m never going to date a fae ever again,” Fig pouted and dramatically embraced Dane. “I’ll just get myself a good hot werewolf like you,” he said as he buried his nose into the crook of Dane’s neck, making the werewolf laugh. Louie watched and couldn’t help but be amazed at how comfortable they were with being physically affectionate. It made sense why Dane never thought twice about hugging or putting an arm around him. It came so easily to him while Louie’s face always seemed to redden even if he only stands closer than usual next to him.

“This is the third time you’ve said you’re never going to date faes again,” Germain reminded him.

Fig looked up and made a face. “I can’t help it if I have a thing for them, okay? They’re just too pretty, but also so evil and mean.”

“There, there,” Dane chuckled as he patted Fig’s back. “Come on, let’s do our usual routine whenever you break up with someone. It ought to make you feel better. What do you say, Gadreel?”

Louie frowned, confused about what they were talking about and why Gadreel suddenly looked annoyed while Fig looked up at him with hopeful eyes.

“Fine,” the angel muttered. “But you’re restocking and cleaning up after.”

Fig smiled from ear to ear and hugged Gadreel’s arm. “Thank you, Gadreel. You really are heaven-sent,” he jokingly purred. The angel gave him a deadpan look then pushed his head away.

As it turned out, their usual routine after Fig had broken up or had been broken up with was to make a mess in the kitchen. Well, not really “make a mess” in the literal sense, but Dane had given the demon the Go signal to concoct whatever comfort food he wanted. As harmless as it sounded, watching it happen made the vein on Gadreel’s forehead bulge as the others messed with his kitchen.

“At least put the pan back on—” Gadreel stopped and helplessly sighed, unable to do anything. “Why are you two even here? Did you also get broken up with?” he asked Germain and Dane who were also having fun cooking god-knows-what.

“What Fig needs right now is a sense of camaraderie,” Germain innocently smiled, lifting a spoon up to Gadreel's mouth to make him taste the orange sauce he had been working on.

Gadreel raised an eyebrow at him but complied anyway. “Too salty,” he said and Germain got back to work.

“Okay, I’m done!” Fig exclaimed, his clothes and borrowed apron painted with splatters of food. He proudly held his plate up and presented it towards the other guys who crowded to see what he made. Louie and Callie, who had been watching quietly in the corner, both winced at the sight of the brown and green blob that Fig so happily referred to as his masterpiece.

“Is this really how it goes?” Louie whispered to Callie, concerned of how manic the demon seemed to be just a few minutes after seething with anger then crestfallen with sadness. “Is he really alright?”

Callie shook her head as she watched Fig with a worried look on her face. “No,” she said, “but this is always how it goes. He looks fine now but he'll simmer down and be in a depressed mood afterwards. I just hope he won’t be too self-destructive this time.”

Louie nodded understandingly while the demon made a show of presenting his work.

“I call it,” Fig said with a mischievous smile, “the Scorned Lover.”

“More like Scorched Lover,” Dane snickered.

“Whatever, but you guys have to try it,” Fig said, handing out spoons to everyone, including Louie and Callie—much to their dismay. One by one, he brought the plate so all of them could get a taste. Dane was the first to do so. The struggled smile on his face his “That’s good,” sounded like an obvious lie. Germain didn’t bother hiding his disgust and gagged after taking a bite. Gadreel kept his expression straight throughout and merely cleared his throat. Louie was a bit more convincing with his “Mmm,” and encouraging smile. Callie, on the other hand, had to drink water immediately afterwards.

“Can we go back to work now?” Gadreel impatiently asked once it was all over.

“Alright,” Dane gathered everyone's attention. “Once you finish your part of the inventory, you can go home early. So, chop chop.”

Louie and Dane headed out to continue their work in the main hall, while Germain moved to the storage room for his. Gadreel stopped Fig before he could even think about escaping.

“You promised to clean up,” he sternly reminded him, then followed Germain into the storage.

Fig sighed and took off his apron as he looked at the mess they had created. He had felt better for a second, but now that it was quiet once again, his mood suddenly dampened. He grabbed a towel and started wiping at the counter. To his surprise, Callie began picking up the plates and pans that they used.

“Oh, I can finish up here,” he told her.

“It’s fine,” she assured him, “I’m done with my task anyway. I’ll be quiet.”

Fig gave her a thankful smile, then they cleaned up the kitchen in silence.