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“Wake up Angel,” a voice calls out, gentle yet assertive, familiar yet not “you can’t die here.”
What?
He feels warm water embrace him whilst warm sunlight caresses his skin.
“Wake up…”
A light breeze blows past bringing with it the salty sea air.
“Angel…”
The sea? Why was he here?
“...Makima.”
Makima?
It all comes rushing back to him. Makima-No, the control devil, Aki and…and? His mind draws a blank.
“Gone…”
His eyes snap open and are met with the cloudless blue sky and midday sun. He’s standing in chest-deep water facing the seemingly endless horizon. The blue of the sky meeting with the deep blue of the sea was like a siren’s song tempting anyone who’d set their eyes on it to go into the unknown.
Angel here’s the distant sound of laughter behind him.
He turns around.
His eyes widen.
Before for him was a village, the village. The sight of it was like a poison to his soul a poison he longed for yet had long forgotten. He sees people, the people he lived and built a life with once upon a time. They’re going about their daily lives, doing their chores, playing, and visiting their neighbors. One of the children playing by the shore spots him, a little boy no older than ten waves at him, beckoning for him to come over.
“Don’t…”
He ignores the enigmatic whispers and walks to shore, he feels the current propel him forward, beckoning him to come closer.
Each step he takes feels a step closer to a paradise lost, to a life long gone. Angel feels the sand below his feet become rougher and the push and pull of the currents stronger, he’s so close.
“Stop…”
He takes a step forward.
“Don’t-” Shut. Up.
He takes another.
And another.
Just one more and he’s out of the water. A breeze blows past him, Angel closes his eyes and breathes in the fresh air. He opens his eyes and is met with thousands of stars twinkling against the dark of night.
Night?
He looks at the shore once again, everyone was gone now.
Where did they go?
He puts a foot forward, just one more, just one more and he’s home.
“Stay in the water Angel.”
He feels arms wrap around his torso, holding him close. The arms wrapped around him kept him from taking the final step forward, the final step toward home.
“Is it still home to you?”
It is, even if he was the one that burnt it down.
Yes.
“Then is our house not home to you? Am I not home to you?”
What?
He feels the arms wrapped around his torso disappear and are replaced with warm palms cupping his face. “Am I not home to you, love?”
His vision blurs for a moment before coming into focus
What?
“Am I not enough for you to stay?” Your hair sways with the night breeze, there are tears in your eyes. You stick out like a sore thumb in your Public Safety uniform, a city mouse in the country.
______? Why are you here?
“No. Why are you here?”
Because…
His mind draws a blank.
A village, a life, a love.
The city, a life, a love.
What was different then? What was different now?
You sigh, a small smile on your face. It was the same smile you’ll make when he points out a thing or two about the never-ending enigma that humans are. You close the gap between you and him, capturing his lips in a loved-filled kiss.
Angel should’ve pushed you away, his touch kills after all.
But he doesn’t. He doesn’t know why.
His hands find your waist and the back of your neck. Angel pulls you closer, deepening the kiss.
This is wrong.It feels right but it’s wrong.
Why?
Why did it feel right?
You break the kiss.
The angel in him sighs in relief, the devil in him yearns for more, neither wanted the moment to end.
You press your foreheads together. Your arms are wrapped around his shoulders, his hands on your hips
Angel’s eyes are on your lips, so close yet so far.
A forbidden fruit.
“…, love.”
What?
You look at him with eyes filled to the brim with love as you tuck in stray strands of his messy hair behind his ear.
“Open your eyes, love.”
Everything fades to black.
…
The sound of waves crashing nearby.
The sea…?
…
Wasn’t he just there before?
…
Open your eyes, love.
…
A two-bedroom apartment.
A ten-gallon fish tank.
The smell of lavender and fabric conditioner.
Home.
…
______
…
Open your eyes, love.
…
Makima.
The control devil.
Aki
The gun devil.
Devil?
Him.
The Angel Devil
Contract?
______
______ ?
…
Open your eyes, love.
…
Gunshots. Bullets.
The gun devil.
Attack.
…
______
Is she safe?
…
Open your eyes, love.
…
Open?
Why?
…
Open your eyes, love. It’ll be okay.
…
Okay…?
It’ll be okay?
…
Arms trapping him in an embrace. A kiss to greet him each morning. The warmth of a hand wrapped around his.
…
Open your eyes, love.
…
Love?
A human feeling.
A human feeling he, a devil, indulges in.
A smile full of joy.
Eyes full of love.
A home.
The one…
The one who?
Who?
Who..?
…
Open your eyes, love.
…
Love…
Calloused hands.
Body marred with burn scars.
Beautiful _____ hair.
A smile that shined brighter than a sun.
A laugh he loves to hear.
_____.
The one he loves.
The one who loves him.
…
Open your eyes, love. Open your eyes.
…
The Angel Devil’s eyes snap open. He’s met with a cloudless night sky, a moon high above, and a few stars. It’s quiet, an antithesis to the carnage and tragedy this beach had bore witness to…how long ago?
Time is lost to him.
Angel’s entire body aches , and he feels several gaping wounds on his wings and chest. Probably gunshot wounds, he’ll be fine, he’ll heal.
He jolts as he feels his back and wings against the sand, the rough grain no doubt scraping his already injured back and appendages. He outstretched his arms, reaching for- Arms? Didn’t he lose them?
He pinches both of his arms, the feeling of having suddenly gained back his arms was weird, to say the least. Angel pinches his arms hard enough that they bled, the purple liquid a sign that they were actually attached to his body. The pain solidifies the fact that they are there .
He places a hand over his heart.
Beat.
Beat.
Beat.
The organ beats pumping blood throughout his body.
He laughs, it's a laugh of bewilderment and relief .
He’s alive.
Holy shit!
What the fuck?
He’s alive?!
Angel raises his middle finger in the air.
Fuck you Makima, you bitch.
He closes his eyes, letting it all settle.
In truth, he shouldn’t be relieved that he was alive with all the talk about wanting to die.Your face flashes in his mind. You’re smiling as you held two cones of soft serve, one for you and one for him. Your smile was contrary to your dress shirt and jacket stained with devil blood.
An impromptu date after killing a devil.
Can’t get any more romantic than that in Public Safety.
_____.
You’re safe, he knows it, he can literally feel it. It was a feeling that was hard to describe but he didn’t need to. All that mattered was that you were alive.
He looks to the moon up high.
The moon smiles down at him.
Everything will be all right.
Yes, everything will be all right.
Angel closes his eyes, body tired, mind and likely non-existent soul exhausted. He’s tired, he wants to rest, he’ll sort this all out later.
It wouldn’t hurt to rest for a moment, right?
Yes, yes, it won’t hurt.
He closes his eyes, the waves of the sea rocking him back and forth. He goes to sleep with a smile on his face, it’ll be okay.
Unidentified Devil Sighted at Local Beach
Tuesday. September 16, 1997.
An unidentified devil was found by Public Safety devil hunters patrolling the area of a local beach in a comatose state. The authorities have yet to release any information or statement regarding the unidentified devil much to the local communities' dismay.
For more information. Turn to Page 5