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"Butterflies aren't usually one of the Seven Deadly Sins." he replied, too small to have his glare visible. "Say whatever you want, boy, but in the end you'll be happy I was so persistent. You're a Neutralisa, remember? And what is Nikolai right now? Mortal?"

"The soul combination process takes three days, but that's not the problem. Before Nikolai died he made a deal with me to give me this body until he could reclaim me. He hasn't mentioned it once since we got back, I'm afraid he might've forgotten." Sloth explained.

"Shh, relax. It's not like the Council will drag you two away immediately." Sloth said and fluttered towards the doorway. He hesitated when he saw it closed and turned to face Leon. "A little help, dearie?"

"I'm sure you won't. Just relax, dearie, you're just paranoid." Sloth said and fluttered into the room. He landed on the rising and falling lump underneath the sheets "Wake up!" he called out, but all he got in response was groggy gibberish and a hand lazily waving at him. With a huff, Sloth flew away from the hand and turned to face Leon expectantly.

Feeling that tender touch, Nikolai turned and groggily looked over at Leon. "What's wrong, dearie?" he asked and sat up, carefully examining the stress lines on his lover's face. He gave him a curious look then, remembering their talk earlier, looked around the room. "If this is about the stripper pole, dearie, it's quite all right if you don't have it. Just having you around is fine enough for me." he smiled.

"I need you to reclaim me and become my host again." Sloth explained to the Russian while crawling up his chest.
Nikolai just gave him a vacant stare. When it was apparent he had no idea what the bug was talking about, Sloth sighed, "Just as I thought. Focus, Nikolai. We made a deal before your death that I would take this body until you reclaimed me. Now all you have to do is accept me and we can get on with our lives, hmm?"
Nikolai stared longer at the sinful butterfly before the memory flashed in his mind. "Ah yes." he nodded then looked back at the butterfly. The opportunity to become a Sin again... The powers may have been nice, but... "I think I'd like to stay mortal, actually." he said while tapping his chin nonchalantly, despite the butterfly's disarray.
"What? Why on earth would you want to be human?!" Sloth demanded.
"Because I have no reason to be a Sin." Nikolai shrugged. "I took that job to get revenge on the world, but now I have Leon." He smiled at the Neutralisa. "To grow old and die with him would be a dream come true for me."

Nikolai hesitated. Ah, that's right, Neutralisas were immortal and forbidden to have mortal lovers. The Russian stayed still for a moment before softening up. Leon had done so much already, he couldn't possibly ask him to give up his position just for his selfish needs. There was no other way around this, was there? Some how, he must have known this would happen. And hey, living forever with Leon for all eternity was just as good as dying by his side.
"Okay, I'll do it." Nikolai agreed and moved back to cup Leon's cheeks in his hands. "I'll most likely be paralyzed with pain for three whole days, so I'll need you to watch over me until then, okay?"

"Mmm, Russia wasn't quite the social circle back then, dearie." Nikolai chuckled dryly while moving away to give himself and Sloth some room. "But yes, I suppose there were a few people I got along quite well with because of my looks alone." he said before biting his thumb enough to draw blood. He watched the red dot enlarge then pulled his sleeve back and wiped the red streak on his right forearm, where a large scar from a chemical burn stayed instead of his brand. "Now Sloth, the laziest of all Sins, the King of Dreams, the Epitome of Apathy, accept my offering and rejoin my soul!" he chanted.
The blue butterfly fluttered down to his bloody arm and tasted the offering. As the bug's wings flattened, a pentagram appeared on the floor of the bedroom, glowing with the power from Nikolai's last deal as a devil. As the symbols on the pentagram glowed brightly, the brand on Sloth's wings faded away word-by-word. Once the brand was gone, the butterfly's blue wings turned bright orange and black, and after a few flaps it fluttered away.
A silent moment passed, but it ended as soon as Nikolai reached out and grabbed Leon's shoulder. "Be sure to take special care of me, dearie." he smiled then suddenly tightened his grip on the purple-haired man. Face contorting in pain, he clenched his jaw to avoid crying out in pain. His right arm began to throb, on the scar that took nearly his entire forearm, a curved line began to etch itself into his skin.