Work Text:
Finding out that your friends were hanging out with angels would probably be amazing if Changbin wasn’t so disgusted by them. Sure, he knew their whole feud was petty and unnecessary but most of the angels he had had the horror of meeting were just as annoying as the old tale his parents used to read him painted them out as. It also didn’t help that they carried this air of superiority. All because they were god’s favourites. Changbin scoffed.
He had felt it before he’d seen them. Their magic lingered on his friend’s clothes and at first, he thought that maybe they had just passed one on the street. But soon enough, Jisung was radiating angel magic every single day and Felix would show up from time to time absolutely reeking of angel. It made Changbin want to go back to his pit and never come out.
And then, their birthday party came. They always celebrated it together, since their birthdays were one day apart, and Changbin had been dumb enough to not prepare himself in case the angel showed up. Turns out they were two. He smelled them in Felix’s apartment before he even got to the door. He didn’t miss the very physical reactions in the angels’ bodies as the door was opened to reveal him. A part of him felt smug; they still had that power over them.
When he was introduced to them, he didn’t shake their hands, and neither did the angels attempt to. They might be kind, but they were not stupid. He smelled something off about one of them, probably his wings had gotten ripped off. Changbin wanted to say that he deserved it.
He spent the entirety of his friend’s party stuck next to Seungmin who looked just as uncomfortable with the angels as he did.
“Can you believe this?” he scoffed as he sat down next to him, whiskey glass in hand. Seungmin gave him a scoff in response.
“They can feel us too, look at how that one keeps eyeing us,” he pointed at the blonde angel next to Felix. Changbin hummed in acknowledgement and raised an eyebrow at the guy once he caught him staring. The angel rolled his eyes which only made Changbin’s fire burn hotter. Stuck up asshole.
“What is he even doing down here? He still has his wings. I don’t believe that he’s risking it for Felix, angels are never that selfless,” he mumbled to Seungmin who nodded.
Gossiping was fun, and dissing your enemy species was even more fun. But they were cut short by Minho sitting next to them, resting his head on Seungmin’s shoulder, who quickly moved it away. Changbin laughed.
These two had an interesting dynamic ever since they had met, which had been a few years ago in human years but in demon years it wasn't really that long ago.
The supernatural passing of time was more or less synchronized between the species making up the kingdom. This had happened around the first war, when the alliances needed to have the same concept of time to know when to meet up.
So, really, a few human years were almost nothing to them. Surprisingly, the pair of demons had gotten pretty attached to the humans, so even though the time passed felt like nothing to him, he still cherished it dearly as if it had been demon years instead.
Demons weren't as bad as people (angels) made them out to be. Sure, they didn't follow the angels' same rules in punishing those who wronged them. But the feathered kind did kick out some of their own for making mistakes, so in Changbin’s opinion, they had no place to talk.
Speaking of fallen angels, the one currently in the apartment seemed to be having a hard time. Changbin bit back a chuckle, it probably hadn't been that long since he had been kicked if he still was used to heaven's unsettling silence and love for absolutely shitty classical music.
He wanted to dig in deeper, to know why, to have more reasons to hate them. His glamours would not work on them for a single second, though. So he just settled for studying the way the fallen one stood awkwardly, a tiny trace of uncomfort in his face.
Their friend's birthday party was, as he had predicted, pretty damn uneventful. There was no reason for them to make a big deal out of each other’s presence. And it would've been incredibly shitty of either species if they brought their petty past to the present in their friend's birthday party.
So, Changbin never really saw the angels again at all that year. That didn't mean he wasn't curious though, mostly about how Jisung’s scent seemed to only get more tainted by the angel scent. What the hell were the pair doing, seriously? Changbin had noticed the way they looked at each other but he had also felt their hesitancy, the way they tiptoed around each other.
Ugh.
Demon love was a lot simpler. Maybe because most demons were incredibly blunt and therefore had no issue telling each other how they felt. Probably because of the fucking telepathy fated couples would develop once they got together.
He looked to his right, where Seungmin was scrolling on Twitter, humming to a song he felt was familiar but couldn't quite place where he had heard. His hair was now a pretty shade of brown and he was wearing Changbin's pink sweater.
"You look good," he told the demon. Seungmin put his phone away, screen facing down on Changbin's bed. He gave him a smile that told him everything he needed to know. He returned it.
"You look good," he was told then. Changbin looked down at his shirt that once had sleeves and his sweatpants. Sure, he didn’t look bad. But he knew what the other demon had meant.
Really, demons were not that complicated to understand, at least not to other demons. But with Seungmin, there was always a hint of doubt, a spec of wonder. It’s not like Changbin couldn't read him, he could if he wanted. But it wasn't the same, he wanted to see these things because Seungmin wanted him to, not because of demon glamours.
Seungmin was looking at him. Changbin would've felt uncomfortable if any other demon gave him that expression, and wonder if they were trying to read him. Seungmin wasn't, though. They hadn't used their glamours on each other in demon decades, they didn't really need to.
"I mean what I say, you know that, hyung," he finally spoke. Changbin knew that. And it didn't matter if Seungmin meant it platonically. Those things didn't matter where they came from. Fated are fated, whatever they choose to do with their relationship is up to them.
That did not mean, however, that Changbin didn't want more. That he didn't crave to know what the other's lips felt like on his, how it was like to wake up next to his warm body besides the lazy naps they took under the light of the scorching hell sun.
He stood up from his bed and walked towards the window. The view from his house was almost as stunning as his friend who was now laying in his bed, holding himself up with one arm as he watched Changbin. From here, he could see the red mountains, creating the perfect skyline.
He enjoyed staying in hell more than he did being around smelly humans all day when he went to earth. He didn't like the boat trip either, preferring other means of transportation that were simply impossible to achieve in hell. Teleportation was pretty okay, but he needed to have crossed the Acheron for it to work when the destination was the human world.
Going to earth was a hassle, but he still enjoyed hanging out with his human friends, and the years he had lived there hadn’t been that bad, if you ignore the fact that he could feel just how awful some humans were. Not like he was any better, but at least he didn't pretend like he was a saint. At least he didn't think praying would make their soul not go where it belonged.
Also somehow the internet signal was just awful on the human side. So, Changbin spent most of his days in his own house in hell, and crossed the border whenever he felt like seeing his friends.
Human new years came rather quickly, probably because time passed differently for them, and he spent it in Seungmin's warm embrace. When Changbin's human clock struck twelve, the two demons held each other's pinky fingers in a silent promise. No words needed.
A part of him wanted the words. The messy, complicated feelings, the being unsure of whether Seungmin cared for him or not. Those things were just dumb and human, though. He knew Seungmin loved him. He didn't need the younger to say it to feel it in his bones when they shared a glance. But it would still be nice to be comforted by three warm words.
Fated relationships were easy like that. He had found Seungmin and felt it in his core, and they had stuck to each other ever since. They both knew they were meant for each other, there was no denying. But confessing your undying love was not as easy as they liked to think.
Accepting your fated into your thoughts was a much harder task. Maybe that's what was holding Seungmin back. If it was, Changbin understood. The mere thought of someone being in the back of your brain, with constant access to your thoughts was kind of creepy, even if Changbin found it a tiny bit romantic.
So, they didn't say the words. They gave each other one last look before Seungmin rested his head on Changbin's chest, the latter's hands immediately finding a home in the younger’s caramel hair. They napped there, holding each other close, and in their dreams they were free.
Seungmin’s alarm shook them from their slumber, a groan left Changbin's lips as he stretched to wake himself up, getting rid of the leftover nap tiredness. They got dressed silently, neither of them were very talkative when they woke up. Moving to the Acheron was what finally woke them up fully, and when they got to the boat, Seungmin silently extended his hand out to Changbin, who gave it a thankful squeeze.
They were at Jisung's house in no time. When his friend opened the door, he gave them a surprised look. Seungmin moved his hand from Changbin's. He ignored the way it made his chest pang.
Jisung smiled at them widely as he always did, giving them both a hug and let them in. Changbin had to stop himself from visibly frowning at the way the human seemed to smell more and more like the angel each time. They walked into their home where the fallen angel was reading a magazine.
He scrunched up his nose by reflex, smelling something new in the angel. Recent blood and the smell of angel serum surrounded the fallen one. Seungmin and him exchanged a subtle look.
"Happy new years," said the angel smiling at them like he knew something they didn't.
"Happy new year," the demons replied.
The first few minutes were awkward. Usually when the demons hung out with their human friends, Minho was around, so everything suspicious they did could be masked by the scorpio man's characteristic way of behaving. They had no problem hanging out with Jisung on his own, but did the angel have to be there too?
After a while, Jisung offered to go pick up something to drink and when Hyunjin immediately stood up to fetch his wallet, the human stopped him with a hand on his shoulder that was a little too tender to Changbin's liking. Before he left, he gave the angel a kiss on his temple. Seungmin offered to go with him as Jisung was putting his coat on, his friend happily accepted the help.
"So, angel, huh?" Changbin said the minute the human was out of hearing reach. He laughed.
"You didn't have to wait until he was gone, he is very much aware," the angel said, "the name's Hyunjin, by the way."
"You told him?" Changbin asked incredulously.
"He caught sight of my scars, when I still had them." Changbin must've made a confused face. "A lot of things in the supernatural world have an undo button, as you already know," the angel pointed to his back.
He had managed to get his wings back? He hadn't heard of too many cases where that had happened. After the war, when the demons had pulled the wings out from the soldiers fighting against them, word had gotten out that some of them had gotten their wings back. But you needed an angel medic for that, and if Hyunjin had been kicked out… How were the wings healthy enough to be reattached?
"Does he know you're a demon?" he asked him. Changbin shook his head.
Demons were not bound by stupid and pointless rules like angels did. They could tell whoever they wanted as long as it didn't disturb universal wellbeing. Both demons were aware that nothing would happen if his human friends learned about their nature, but neither could deny that they would be creeped out.
"Why did they kick you out?" Changbin asked back. He felt the angel tense up and just when he thought he'd avoid the question, he took a deep breath and started talking.
"I was young back then, when it all started. It hadn't been long since my creation and I was tasked to keep an eye on a specific demon." Changbin bit back a scoff, angels keeping tabs on them? Somehow it didn't seem to surprise him. "He was nice, and never really did anything without having a solid reason why. I kept reporting to my supervisor these things, but they must've wanted him gone because they kept pushing me to dig into his past, to wait until he slipped up.
"As I said, he was nice. And they had nothing on him. Near the end, I realized they were going to frame him for something one of our own had done if I didn't find anything incriminating. I contacted him, which was strike number one, and I told him which locations to avoid, since I knew if he was seen anywhere near them it would be enough for the angels to frame him."
Changbin nodded. While it did seem like something the feathered assholes would do, Hyunjin was definitely acting out of character. Why would he jeopardize himself, his status, his whole life as he knew it, to save a demon he didn't even speak to before?
"After I told him all of this," he continued, "I started digging deeper into my superiors. Isn't it funny that I was supposed to find dirt on a demon but ended up finding dirt on the higher ups from my own species?" he laughed bitterly. Changbin felt uneasy as he sensed the pain in the angel's voice. "Anyways, word got out that I had found out their dirty secrets and they decided that it was safer for them if I was not around."
He still hadn't explained how he had gotten the wings back, but Changbin guessed he was covering for someone.
"I'm telling you this because I know what you think of me. I don't really care about it, but Jisungie can feel the tension too," he explained.
So he really did care about Jisung? Huh. It's not like supernatural beings didn't have a huge scope of emotions, usually much stronger than most humans. But love, this kind of love, it was human. It was nothing Hyunjin should be able to be feeling.
"When I fell, I never expected to end up in love with a human. To be honest, I thought I could never experience true human emotions. But the human realm has a stronger influence on us that I imagined."
"You're in love with him?" Changbin asked. The angel nodded. "You better take care of him, or I'll rip out your wings again myself."
The angel nodded solemnly and Changbin smiled, pleased that he didn't seem scared but was still taking him seriously. Angels were apparently tougher than he'd thought. Or maybe it was this one in particular.
Changbin's opinion on the species would not be changed after one silly talk, but that didn't mean he couldn't see this particular angel in a different light.
They were interrupted by the sound of Jisung's keypad as he came back. Seungmin was holding the drinks, and Changbin had to force himself not to stare at the little snow flakes on his hair and scarf. He smiled at the detail. The demon didn't need the scarf to keep himself warm, but he still liked to dress up.
Hyunjin stood up to get some glasses, Changbin gave Seungmin a smile. The younger raised an eyebrow, he had clearly caught the end of their conversation. But it wasn't Changbin's story to tell, and he let the demon know this by shaking his head. Seungmin shrugged in response.
Their stay on the human world was made longer by Minho reaching out to Changbin to hang out. And Minho was the demon pair's favourite human or whatever the fuck he was, so they gladly took the invitation.
Minho was definitely different. He could always detect some sort of supernatural magic whenever he was close to him. Sometimes, he'd talk about time like he didn't fully understand it, like it passed differently for him. But no matter how hard he had tried, he hadn't been able to fully get an idea of what the Hell he was.
Somehow, Minho seemed to be aware of the demons' struggle to figure him out, because he always gave them a look that let them know he knew something they didn't. It bothered Seungmin more than it did Changbin, although he never let it show.
Minho's apartment was on the top of his building, big windows allowed him to have a spectacular view of the city's skyline. It kind of reminded Changbin of home, which probably contributed to how much he enjoyed spending time in the apartment.
Sure, demons didn't really have building complexes. Everyone sort of had their own house which was usually bigger than it seemed, blame demon glamours for that. Changbin and Seungmin’s were next to each other’s but they were widely different. Seungmin's had a lot more books, that's for sure.
Anyways, Minho's house smelled like stardust, a scent Changbin would never get used to. The smell was particularly strong around the hundreds of plants Minho had strategically placed around his property. There was a second scent, Minho's, which was definitely not human but Changbin wasn't very familiar with the entirety of the supernatural kingdom to be able to distinguish between them.
"You know you can just ask me, and I'll tell you, right?" Minho had told him after refilling his glass of whiskey. His eyes shone with excitement and Changbin caught a hint of purple passing through his irises.
He looked around again, he knew the answer was somewhere, hidden in plain sight. It was no fun if the answer was just given to him. It was the hunt that gave him the thrill not the catch.
Changbin nodded and took a sip of his whiskey, finger absimentaly tapping on the glass. He'd figure it out when the time was right, he was sure of it.
"Suit yourself, then," Minho said after seeing the resolution in his eyes. "Your kind is so stubborn, if I didn't tolerate you so much it would be annoying."
So he did know they were demons. It felt a little unfair, that the knowledge was one sided, but that's the same feeling he would get from Seungmin 90% of the time, so he was mostly used to being at a disadvantage. He'd catch on soon enough.
Changbin smiled at him, bright and sunny, a smile reserved for friends and Seungmin only. He felt the other demon's eyes on him as he did and his breath got caught in his throat when their eyes met.
Seungmin's stare was soft, caring, almost endeared. A gaze Changbin wasn't used to being on the receiving end of, especially from Seungmin. He wished he could get used to that, too, to seeing his fated look at him with an unmatched amount of love, to never feel insecure about their relationship.
Truth is, despite having the younger one resting on his chest almost every night, despite being able to feel his presence next to him every time he looked for him, despite the silent promises and soft smiles, Changbin was lonely.
It was strange, for a demon. They weren't really the types of creatures to seek out love, although they did not run from it once they found it. Demons weren't the kind of species to crave affection the way Changbin did. But he had always been one of a kind.
Back at his house, he laid still on his empty bed, eyes traveling across the golden details on his ceiling, his brain betraying him as the gold reminded him of Seungmin's eyes. The golden eyes only showed up when he was particularly content, otherwise they shone bright red. Changbin wanted to be the reason his eyes were gold.
He should probably talk to him, explain how he felt, and reach an agreement. It would be faster to just rip out the bandaid, lay his feelings in front of Seungmin to see. And it would probably hurt a lot less to be rejected than to suffer in the loud silence where his heart stayed hidden.
Changbin was in Seungmin's library before he even finished thinking about going there. As expected, his fated was sitting in his favourite green armchair, a thick book in his hands and his reading glasses on. He didn’t really need the glasses, but he had told Changbin once that they made him feel closer to the human experience of reading.
"Binnie," Seungmin said, looking up as he marked the page he was at and closed the book, setting it aside.
He stood up, looking at Changbin and he almost felt naked, exposed, even when the younger wasn't using his glamours on him, he still had that effect.
Changbin felt his emotions stir up, forming something akin to a tornado in the pit of his stomach. He looked down at his hands, willing them to stop feeling so damn numb.
He looked up at his fated whose open expression made his breath hitch. Seungmin's face was kind, a hint of worry behind his eyes that he tried his best to conceal. Changbin took a deep breath.
"I like you," he said. Seungmin nodded. He knew. "I like you more than this," he pointed at the empty space between them, "more than I have words to explain."
He looked away from his face, not ready to see the emotions flashing across his eyes.
Seungmin got closer and took his hand, intertwining their fingers together. "You know how I feel about you, Binnie," he said softly.
Changbin stepped back, their hands releasing. "No, Seungmin," he looked at him again, "I don't. I can't figure out what goes on through your head, and I'm growing tired of seeing you guarding yourself so much." He threw his hands up, "What are you so afraid of, Seungmin?"
He stepped forward, chasing after Changbin. He pressed his forehead against his and the elder gasped as he felt an income of energy invade him, wrapping itself around his soul, tugging at his core until they were perfectly snug.
And then Changbin was seeing himself through his fated's eyes, the image much warmer than what Changbin thought it would be. The unmistakable scent of unconditional love wrapped itself around the memory.
"You linked us?" he whispered. Seungmin smiled at him warmly and suddenly he could sense what the smile meant.
"We've always been linked, Binnie," he said instead. Changbin understood.
There had always been a sense of togetherness whenever they were next to each other, a kind that was hard to explain, hard to figure out. But it had been there, subtly tugging them closer. Maybe that's how they understood each other through their eyes. Maybe that's how Seungmin always seemed to know what he was thinking.
Fated ones would link telepathically once both parties were sure, were ready for it. All this time, he thought it was Seungmin who was holding back. Turns out it was his own self consciousness that was stopping each other to be fully one.
They took a step back to glance at each other. Seungmin grabbed both his hands. His eyes were golden, and Changbin knew that his were too.
I love you, Seungmin told him, his mind voice much more melodic and warm than his out loud one.
I love you, Changbin responded.
And with their hands intertwined and their souls merged, time stopped just for them.