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Nick Hoult was a demon.
He was very good at handling things.
Devil No.2698, one of hell’s best workers in fact!
Nick had been in many situations, many relationships that he had been able to finagle his way out of, thanks to his good looks and his charm.
Even if he came across a bit of trouble, he always figured it out in the end.
This, however, he had no idea how to handle.
It was around one in the morning, albeit he wasn’t big on having a healthy sleep schedule, was still an unusual time for him to be up and about. A strange bout of restlessness had struck him and he had two options now.
Option one, was to wander the streets of Beijing and maybe stop by a few bars to pick up a few chicks.
Option two, was to come visit the residents of apartment 1031.
After mulling over his options for a bit he decided that he was not in the mood to have to make a grand escape, after ghosting another partner. So that left apartment 1031! Neil would definitely be a bit irritated if his boisterous older half brother used an array to warp into his room so he decided to give his favorite angel a visit.
His relationship with Lynn wasn’t exactly… perfect… but the angel had grown to tolerate him despite the majority of their interactions being bickering or squabbling over the smallest thing. The angel had honestly grown used to lifting one of his paintings in his small room only to discover an array messily scribbled underneath.
The first time such a thing happened he spent a week doing dishes in an attempt to win the angel over after upsetting him, only to be forgiven thanks to Lily stepping in and nagging, “Gege! Stop ignoring Nick!” And of course with how soft the older angel's heart was for his sister immediately caved, and just like that Nick had been forgiven.
Whether it was a sign that he could now do whatever he wanted, or a warning that without Lily’s help he probably wouldn’t have been ever forgiven by the stubborn blonde, he decided to take it optimistically, and soon enough almost every single one of Lynn’s paintings had a brand new array underneath.
Of course he was respectful enough not to make a mess when he came in. Lifting the paintings gently, as to not upset him. If the angel was even aware that Nick had continued doing this, he didn’t know. Didn’t care much either to be honest. As long as the angel wasn’t yelling, or trying to purify him then he took it as a good sign. Not that the angel has actually seen him come in again since then. Although he probably got the hint from the numerous times he saw Nick enter the apartment through his room rather than the actual entrance while doing the dishes.
Clapping his hands together and heaving a puff of air he slipped through his array.
Carefully going head first, he outstretched his hands in front of his horns, as to not bump the painting off of the wall.
Slowly he emerged from the wall, lifting the painting up vertically.
Lynn was likely asleep, he was the definition of what a healthy lifestyle was yet he always had that tired look on his face. Eyes always red rimmed and bagged with a sort of sleepiness that would never go away.
Distantly he could hear the soft rumbling snores of Damao and the muffled cursing of Ira, who had apparently just lost at a game.
The apartment of 1031 never seemed to be quiet, even in ungodly hours of the night, he supposed.
Gently pushing himself up so his upper half was now sticking out he lifted the painting off of its presumed spot on the wall and softly went to place it on the floor so it would no longer be lying stiffly against his back.
Sniff
He froze.
Eyes darting around the plain room looking for a sign of movement.
That’s when he realized Lynn’s bed was currently empty. Untouched even, by the look of its smoothed, unwrinkled features.
Wait, so then where did the-
His eyes tilted down.
Sitting below him pressed against the wall in a curled up ball, slightly illuminated by his halo flickering in the dark, sat Lynn.
And he was crying.
This. He had no idea how to handle.
He had seen the angel cry before.
Well, that was a lie actually…
He had seen Lynn on the verge of tears before, whether it be his roommates annoying him just a bit too much, or the stress of a thesis due in a week, but never actual crying.
The awkwardness of the situation seemed to weigh on his shoulders as he began to regret not choosing option one.
Slowly, he began retreating back into his array, a faint red glow emitting from the circle, frantically trying to erase any mark of him ever being there from the angel's view, should he look up at any point in time.
Listen… it wasn’t exactly the kindest thing… but they weren’t even friends! Running away was all Nick had ever done anyways. So why should that stop him now? He could go home, drink a few beers and forget all of this ever happened. It would save himself and Lynn from the shared embarrassment that was to come if he did decide to stay and talk.
It was all going smoothly until one of his unfortunately curved horns clipped the corner of the painting. It slipped out of his grasp, bumping against the wall above him and fell down right on top of the crying man.
Oh fuck.
He let out a surprised yelp as the frame bounced off of him, hitting him just over the right shoulder. His head snapped up, bleary and unfocused eyes scanning the wall above him.
“Nhh… Nick?...”
Welp. Hes fucked. Now he was going to be purified and die a horribly embarrassing death.
“Uhhhh… no…?” he tried.
Unsurprisingly Lynn ignored his response.
“What… what are you…” realization seemed to set in as his eyes narrowed “What the fuck are you doing in my room?”
Even in the dim lighting of the landlord's halo Nick could still finally clearly make out his features. The angel's eye bags seemed to have grown even deeper, fat tears still rolling down his flushed face. Despite the aggressive tone the angel had taken up he still managed to look pathetically small.
He was curled up underneath the arrangement of paintings he had, knees tucked into his chest by his hugging arms, wings almost cocooning himself in a protective shield. A half empty mug full of a once probably hot tea sat next to him untouched for the time being.
“I was… I was just leaving actually!” the demon sputtered out in a desperate excuse to leave this embarrassingly awkward situation. Quickly bending over to grab the fallen painting, he underestimated how high up he was, quickly beginning to tilt over before landing on his ass with a loud grunt, painting clattering beside him once more.
It didn’t go unnoticed with how the angel seemed to wince at the noise. Almost as if it had physically hurt him.
“That was… not intended.” Nick mumbled out sheepishly
Lynn sent him a withering glare, enough for him to nervously curl into himself.
Despite the situation though, the blonde was seemingly still continuing to tremble, a stream of tears everlasting as they dripped down his face into his damp dress shirt.
Distantly Ira cursed and a loud banging could be heard.
Lynn flinched and covered his ears as more tears bubbled out of his eyes.
Any other time he would already be up on his two feet and on his way back out through his array, tail between his legs, probably never able to face Lynn ever again for the rest of his life. This time however… was different. He had never seen the angel so… sad. The main emotions he ever saw the angel display were anger, indifference, and happiness (Sometimes, if eggs happened to be on sale. What was up with that by the way?)
But with the way the angel was staring at him with that cow eyed glance, tears continuing to slide down his face, he felt like he was obligated to stay. Or at least make an effort to make him feel better.
And that's how he ended up sitting next to a man he couldn’t call a friend, yet cared for as one all the same. The awkward tension never seemed to leave either but, neither did Nick. Lynn hadn’t made any outward protest against Nick's stay but didn’t seem to even acknowledge him either. Every once in a while Nick would let out a deep sigh and the angel's eye would twitch irritability, fingers digging into his own arm as his wings ruffled.
Nick fidgeted uncomfortably, not used to the silence that was usually filled with arguments between the two of them. “So…” he started “What's got you feeling so down today?” He internally winced at how corny he sounded.
“What do you care?” Lynn groused.
“Hey!” Nick snapped, only to immediately lower his voice when he saw the way Lynn’s breathing picked up.
“I’m only trying to help.”
“God I know, I know… S- Sorry…”
Lynn had at least the decency to look guilty so Nick decided to ignore his snide remark.
Shit. He was so bad at this, he didn’t know how to make people feel better he only knew how to make people feel bad. Helping someone when it did not contribute to his own gain was something very strange that he had come unprepared for.
What was something he did to make Neil feel better?
Scratch that.
There was a reason Neil didn’t like him now.
What’s something his mom did to make him feel better?...
Singing?
Nope he was definitely tone deaf and it would probably result in him getting kicked out of the apartment.
Food?
Also negative. There was a reason he came into 1031 to snatch up Lynn's homemade food, instead of making his own.
A hug?...
Ugh…
Maybe?...
Slowly, he reached out to Lynn, his huge calloused palm faintly brushing the blondes arm before-
“AH!”
Lynn’s reaction was a violent one. Wings flying out as his arms thrashed, smashing his left arm into his mug right against the wall.
Shards of ceramic went flying, Nick turning around to shield himself as the angel scrambled backwards, away from the demon, slicing open his palm in the process.
Blood gushed out of the deep cut, the blonde whimpering pathetically as he gripped his own wrist, shaking from the sudden contact.
“Oh shit! Why’d you do that man!” the demon barked, staggering to his feet. “Fuck! I’ll go get the lights and we need t-”
“NO!”
Nick stopped in his tracks. Eyes flickering between the now crying and bleeding angel and the lights switch.
“...Why?...”
“It’s just- It’s just-”
Another bang from Ira followed by loud laughing and from the sound of it, one of the other residents had gotten out of bed for a late night snack, puttering around in the kitchen where dishes were audibly being clattered around.
A sobbed wrenched itself from Lynn as he keeled over, curled up around his own injured hand, wings fighting the strong tremors that wracked through his body.
“I don’t understand!” Nick yelled frustrated at the lack of progress.
The angel shook his head desperately, “It’s too much- It’s too much! Please!... Please…”
Nick, despite how embarrassingly dense he was, got the hint and quickly lowered his voice.
“I don’t… I don’t know what to do… Please… tell me what I need to do.” he begged.
The angel was no longer trembling but still seemed shaken up, he took a few hicupping breaths before croaking out.
“I do not- it’s stupid… it’s so.. so… unreasonable…”
A humorless laugh bubbled out of his throat as he sat up, kneeling on the floor with his hands resting between his legs.
“Listen angel, I know we aren’t friends but you can tell m-”
“We aren’t friends?”
Fuck.
He quickly glanced away from the others heartbroken stare as he cleared his throat, “No- No tha-that's not what I meant! Just-, just tell me… what's wrong…”
The angel's face got impossibly more flushed, his ears and nose getting practically bright pink from embarrassment.
“You will think I am stupid” He stated, almost as if it was a fact.
“I won’t, I won’t” He murmured, glancing to the side nervously.
“You say im stupid all the time” The angel sniped back bitterly.
The words hit him hard in the chest as he felt guilt pool down low in his stomach.
“That’s just- It’s just… teasing…?”
Even his own words sounded like a question to himself.
“I don’t mean it, I really don’t.” Nick defended.
“It doesn’t make it any less cruel.”
And Nick did something both parties hadn’t expected, he apologized.
“I’m sorry.” He spoke in a hushed tone.
He didn’t miss the way Lynn’s eyes widened from surprise.
He also didn’t miss how his tears were coming to a halt.
“Just… just tell me what's wrong, Ok? And if I do say something I'll do the chores for a month alright?”
Lynn shifted nervously, glancing to the side before puffing up his wings. His hand wasn't bleeding as heavily anymore, but the silence was interrupted by a soft pattering every once in a while.
“It’s… sensory overload…” The angel had practically whispered out, almost as if it were a curse.
The staring paired with the prolonged silence was enough to cause the blonde's eyes to well up almost immediately, full of fresh tears as he began to mumble out an assortment of “I told you so”s and “I’m sorry”s.
“No! No, no, no! It’s not bad! It’s not! I just don’t- I don’t know what that is…” He admitted ashamedly.
“Oh… I am sorry. I was not aware.” Lynn petered out in the soft voice of his.
“Sometimes, noises and lights. They are too much for me. It hurts, it’s just… a lot for me to take in.”
“That’s why you didn’t want me to turn on the lights?”
“Yes.”
“Ah I see… Alright… Um then what about when I touched your arm?”
Lynn flushed heavily in embarrassment when he brought it up, looking to the side bashfully.
“That was also… too much. It surprised me. I had not expected it.”
“Can I touch you now?”
Lynn paused, the gears in his head turning, fingers fidgeting while his wings flicked. He pinned Nick with that undecipherable gaze before giving him a few quick minute nods.
Hesitatingly, Nick reached out to Lynn before drawing the smaller man in towards him. The angel was stiff, awkwardly trying to piece himself against the broad demon, shifting uncomfortably before eventually settling down, curled up against his side with his head resting against his chest. He lay there, gripping Nick's striped dress shirt, trying to ease his breathing.
Nick draped his arm over the man, careful not to smack his halo or wings by accident, holding him in a half embrace.
Lynn was strung up still, wincing when a distant clatter could be heard off somewhere in the apartment. Nick wondered if Lynn had discussed what he went through with any of the other roommates he lived with. Considering how loud they usually were though, probably not.
He’d have a talk with them sometime.
Lynn’s sniffing had died down and settled for taking a few shuddering breaths, pressing his head up against his chest, finding his heartbeat a nice melody to focus on.
Thin fingers slowly lost their grip, softly lying against Nick's lap.
Nick would have made a raunchy joke had it been a better situation.
If it had been a better situation.
The small man's breathing eventually evened out, sitting there together in a surprisingly comfortable silence. A tiredness finally set in, emotionally exhausted from a sort of empathy he normally never had. Drowsiness took its toll on the demon who slowly began to sag with lidded eyes.
Lynn broke the silence.
“Why?…”
“Hm?” Nick’s tired eyes fluttered back open.
“You said we aren’t friends. Why are you doing this for me. Do you want something?” the angel questioned, tone accusing.
“No I didn’t- I won't… Ah I guess I just didn't want you to be sad. Easy as that.”
It was almost comedic, the way Lynn’s face flushed at Nick’s declaration. Emerald eyes darting away to find solace in the blood stained floor.
Nick let out a snort at that, rumbling laughter jostling the angel out of his lap.
“Not funny.” Lynn had spoken quickly.
“I’m not laughing at you, don’t worry your cute little tushy.”
Lynn turned noticeably more red at the statement, muttering out a few curses in English that he couldn’t quite understand.
“So, when are we going to do anything about that hand of yours?”
The blonde glanced down at his hand, halo flickering so quickly if you blinked you would have missed it.
“Oh. I’ll heal it up right now.” he stated as if it were a chore rather than as if it was a normal obligation to want to stitch up a bleeding injury.
“I know you said using your powers gives you a headache though, are you su-“
“Yes it will be fine. Cover your eyes to prevent any further damage.” He mumbled out quickly.
Behind closed and covered eyes, Nick could see a bright glow before dimming down. Cracking open an eye, Lynn’s previously sliced hand was now healed! Lynn however was looking a bit worse for wear, swaying back and forth sickly, eye bags even more prominent than before.
“Alright let's get you to bed!” Nick mumbled. “I’m gonna touch you now, ok?”
The angel’s unfocused pupils gazed over Nick before giving another quick small nod.
Very carefully, Nick plucked the lithe yet broad man off the floor, scooping his arms underneath the angel's armpits, half lugging him half dragging him across the room before the angel let out an irritated groan.
“If you are going to be dragging me I think i can walk.” the angel snarked, very much annoyed.
With a big heave and a scoop of his arm he swept Lynn off his feet, lifting him into a bridal carry. “This better?” he mocked, a bit irritated and the blonde's short temperament, especially since he was trying his best to help.
It seemed to shut the angel up, face and ears lighting up red before he pointedly looked away, finding the wall much more interesting than anything else going on.
He (in his opinion) placed Lynn very gently onto the empty looking bed, with a soft mumbled “Thanks” echoing from the other.
He went to step back into his array, go home and hopefully drink himself stupid enough to forget this ever happened and go back to him and Lynn arguing daily.
It's not that he hated Lynn— it was the opposite really, as cliche as it was.
He didn’t want to get close, couldn’t get close.
The fear of hurting him, the fear of someday leaving him.
He couldn’t do that to Lynn. Not him. He deserved to remain pure, unsullied by an abandoning demon such as himself.
Wiry fingers dug into his shirt.
A pause of silence.
He couldn’t even hear Damao’s snores, or Ira’s cheering over the loud beating of his heart.
“Can you… stay?”
Nick’s brain scrambled for an excuse, he had work! He needed to check something at home! He left his laptop at work! Anything, anything to get the fuck out of dodge and get away from the pleading angel.
“No, fuck off.” his brain said
“Of course angel” he chirped outwardly
Internally he screamed, face palmed, cursed the god that had spawned Lynn Angel onto this earth to simply fuck with his feelings.
Externally, he climbed into the empty side of Lynn’s bed, holding his breath, as if a single puff of air would break this fragile unspoken truth the two had made for the situation.
Stiffly, robotically almost, Nick laid by the angel, facing directly up at the ceiling arms by his side on top of the blanket. The bed dipped underneath Nick, jostling the angel on the other side who let out a confused hum as he was raised slightly.
It was painfully embarrassing and Lynn bit back a funny sounding noise as he twisted around in bed to face the red faced demon.
“Alrighttimetogotosleepgoodnightangel-“
“Nick… are you… cold?”
Nick’s jaw clicked from the force he shut it at and side eyed the angel.
“Of course not! We demons naturally run hot! With fire and all… um…”
“Nick we can share.”
His tail twitched in excitement from that, despite the lack of familiarity they shared between each other he was glad the angel was being a bit more friendly.
Slipping under the covers he turned to lay on his side, accidentally bumping noses with Lynn who let out an airy laugh.
He decided he liked the sound of it.
Bumping noses again purposefully Lynn let out another chuckle before settling down.
“It’s late, we should sleep now Nick…”
“Whatever you say angel.” the demon mumbled.”
“I have a name, you know.” Lynn muttered offhandedly, a hint of bitterness creeping into his voice.
“Alright, whatever you say, Lynn.”
It was quiet between them before he noticed the angel's face slowly begin heating up.
“I have changed my mind. You can go back to calling me angel.” he said, sounding very serious before a small smile cracked across his face.
Nick barked out a laugh before pulling in the angel to slot up against himself.
“Yeah, yeah, just go to sleep, asshole.”
Falling asleep was easy after that, mindlessly stroking a stray feather he fell asleep shortly after Lynn, hoping to god his snoring would disturb and angel and lead to him getting kicked out
For the first time, Nick decidedly did not leave before the other woke up, it seemed like staying for once wouldn’t be too bad.