Ryker grinned again.

"Fair enough, fair enough." he said.

He then checked on the rice, before setting a timer.

"Right then." he said.

"When this timer goes off, yell for me." he told Eke.

"In case I don't hear it while getting these other things done."

Ryker was caught off guard by what Eke said and gave him, before stopping AT the door.

"All right, all right!" he said.

"I'll give it to her." he told him, clearing his throat a bit and taking the flower.

He then sighed and stepped outside, closing the door behind him.

"Uh... hello?" he asked, looking around.

Ryker just chuckled nervously.

"It's a rose." he told her.

"Well... not really." he then said.

"It's chocolate. But in the shape of a rose." he continued.

"....for you." he finished, handing it towards her.

Ryker's eyes widened a bit, and his face turned a little red, before he grinned.

"Heh." he chuckled.

"Well, you're welcome." he said.

"...listen, I know I'm a bit... well... distant, but I'm changing that." he then told her.

"After this is over, and after I know Eke is safe, I plan to... calm down and get closer to those around me." he went on.

"And we can get to know each other a LOT more closely."

"Well, that's fair enough." Ryker responded.

"Just... I mean... well, I'm just thinking of the future." he told her.

His face then suddenly turned beet red.

"Shut up!" he hissed to... what seemed to be himself, but was most likely the demon.

"That's so crude!" he said further, before pausing.

"Yes, that doesn't make it any less true but-" he started to say further, before clearing his throat and looking at the woman.

"Eh-heh, sorry about that." he apologised.

Again, Ryker's face turned red, before the demon took over.

"Yeah? That so?" he asked.

"All right, before I disappear again." he went on, smirking slightly.

"Talking about... oh, how do mortals phrase it...?" he wondered aloud, thinking about it slightly.

"Smashin' you!" he declared.

"The horizontal monster mash!" he said further with a laugh.

The demon grinned.

"Heh." he chuckled.

"Nice." he said.

It was at that point, Ryker took over again, his eyes wide.

".....I.... uh...." he stammered.

"Yes... well, uh... heh." he stumbled over his words further.

"I... I look forward to it."

"....." Ryker was unsure as to what to say here.

"I... yeah." he said.

"Yeah, I've been told that." he said further.

"As for mating for life and living a long time... yeah, well, got that covered." he muttered.

"Seems I'm going to stop aging when I hit 30."

"....." Ryker was silent for a moment, and sighed.

"Oh, it's... just that when I turn 30, the demon inside me will... well... fully merge with me." he told her.

"So I can regain my throne." the demon said, taking control again.

"I must wrest control back from that upstart that's going to cause a calamity down there." he told her.

"When Ry-Guy reaches 30, he'll be peak condition for it."

The demon just smirked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Whether or not you some to love me doesn't matter." he said.

"I'll still be taking over his body and regaining my throne." he told her.

"...." he was then silent, before scratching at his chin a little.

"Though your attitude towards this IS encouraging." he admitted.

"I WILL need a queen, after all."