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The day felt like it had gone by awfully fast, from teaching to the market to cleaning up the mess Neil had made of the kitchen after his most recent attempt at cooking with unconventional ingredients to going back to the market to replace what was destroyed. It was just the right amount of mundane to make Lynn feel content with the day.
Yet, right as the Angel was about to go to bed, a certain devilish man stood in his doorway, donning the same infuriating, albeit charming, grin. While his expression held the same unending mix of smug and wild, his typically pristine clothes were mussed. His off white collar was bent in an unusual position, and the vest that normally snuggly hugged his waist was unbuttoned, loosely hanging from his shoulders. The demon’s always tight braid was loose, looking like it was haphazardly tied in a rush. All in all, Nick was a mess.
“What happened?” Lynn’s brows were furrowed, and he paid little mind to the way the other’s eyes deliberately dragged over him. The landlord wasn’t new to the way he acted when he was avoiding something, even if it was tempting to indulge in his ideas of escapism.
Nick ignored the question, tilting his head and stepping towards him, his sharply tipped tail brushing the side of the angel’s thigh. Despite the sensation, Lynn managed to suppress a shiver. “Have I ever told you how much you-“ A palm was pressed against Nick’s lips, and his eyes showed surprise for just a moment before flickering down into an all-consuming stare.
“Nick.” Lynn frowned, at least, more than he had been. He hadn’t the faintest clue what he could’ve gotten himself into, as it could be anything. The charmer had a habit of pissing off the nearest creature if one of his little plans didn’t end his way. “Are you injured?” He lifted his chin, checking for any bruises, and he felt a tinge of shame for specifically checking around his neck. It was still useful, though, to know if anything was there.
The demon’s eyes softened just a trace, and as the hand left his mouth, he huffed. “No, but if you want to check…” He began to shrug off his vest. Internally, Lynn began to panic. At this point, the way Nick flirted with him was normalized within the apartment. It was just one another addition to their daily lives, and they presumably didn’t think it anything more than a Devil and his temptations. Lynn, on the other hand...well, it was complicated.
He understood that it was only a demon trying to bring him into unholiness. Ingenuity was his middle name, and yet, it also wasn’t. Nick could be genuine, he could care, and he could get hurt. Lynn, just as he cared for the other tenants, wanted to see him happy, and despite how much it seemed giving into that temptation would bring him joy, it didn’t. The Angel knew this. Perhaps it brought him amusement, but Nick’s true glee came from the true moments he spent with his brother, the compliments that hit a sweet spot, and the small smiles Lynn spared him from time to time. That was what the dirty blonde had picked up, at least.
Lynn himself had conflicting feelings towards him. He tried his hardest not to fan the flames that sparked each time he thought of that wonderful grin—the genuine one, where he could tell that he was surprised and/or just joyous. He yearned to see him like that, and every moment he did sent him spiraling into hope. Hope that somehow, in some way, Nick considered him to be more than his landlord and a pawn to trick out of chastity. Lynn absolutely knew it was an impossibility, yet everything about being Angel was about hope, and for once he could understand Neil and Lily’s relationship.
Now, he panicked seeing the other begin to strip right in front of him, eagerly unbuttoning his shirt. It wasn’t the time to delve into the twisted way it messed with his stomach, and Nick was already eating up his expression. Lynn’s head snapped to the side, making absolutely sure that no one was around. The simple flirting was already enough to arouse suspicion; but if anyone, especially Ira, saw Nick trying to reveal himself; they wouldn’t hear anything but teasing for weeks.
“Nick,” Lynn spoke sternly, teeth clenched. His hands quickly gripped his wrists, pressing them to the demon’s chest with just enough pressure to hold him against the door. “Tell me what happened to you.”
“Oh, so you want to take control. Why, I’m completely fi-“
“That wasn’t a question.” It was in his quiet tone, but traces of authority slipped in. Maybe he was playing into it a bit too much. He did it thinking it would help him know what had messed Nick up so much.
At the statement, the demon seemed to deflate, so much of his previous, likely fake, confidence swept away and replaced with subtle dread. Lynn immediately let go, taking the hint that this was no longer part of the distraction Nick was trying to create. “I don’t want to talk about it.” His solemn tone could only confirm his fears.
“That…is okay.” Of course it was. If he didn’t want to talk about it he didn’t have to. Lynn would never force him to talk about anything unless it was absolutely necessary. Though, if it did possibly involve violence…”Are any of us in danger?” He kept up his usual monotone, yet his expression showed bits of concern through the pursing of his lips and the furrow of his brows.
It seemed as if the question was a difficult one for Nick to answer, and Lynn didn’t like the look of that at all. In the end, however, the demon shook his head. It didn’t ease him at all, though.
The Angel sighed. “Well. That’s all I need to know.” He stepped back. “I’m not going to engage in any, er, whatever you wanted.”
Suddenly, Nick was a little more lighthearted, a brow raised and his lips curling into a smirk. “If I told you what happened would you bed me?”
The answer carried no hesitation. “No.” Of course he wouldn’t. If Nick didn’t want to explain it he wouldn’t coax him to through intercourse of all things. “You can sleep on the couch tonight. Use the shower if you’d like.” He assumed that he wasn’t going to leave.
Nick was visibly disappointed, and in all honesty Lynn couldn’t put his finger on why. There were a variety of possible reasons: his lack of control over him, not having a distraction, or even some kind of genuine attraction. The Angel despised how the thought of that struck something in him, how it made his heart jump in an inexplicable way. Still, it wouldn’t do any good if Nick only thought of him as some attractive pawn.
“Alright, alright.”
Nick sombered off to the bathroom, tail flicking every few steps; it was as if it had a mind of its own, coaxing Lynn to follow him to the bathroom. The temptation always remained in the air. As much as he liked to convince himself that he wasn’t affected, Lynn knew the tightness in his chest said otherwise, and he was sure Nick could tell too. He was slowly sliding under his skin until he broke.
The Angel hated how he was both terrified and excited for what would come next. “Enjoy your shower.” He called after him, and the thought of seeing him shower pricked at him before he stepped through his now clear bedroom door.
Lynn eagerly went to bed, but it took quite some time to reach sleep.