Archive of Our Own ^beta

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     1. the risk 

"Aki… I want to quit."

The gyoza between his chopsticks drops.

“L-Like this relationship or—”

You burst into a fit of laughter, bringing up a hand to wipe away at the tears forming against your will. 

“No! No, of course not. I mean, as a devil hunter, silly!”

"Really? And you’re not moving to the private sector or anything, you’re quitting devil hunting entirely?"

“Yeah… I’m not transferring sectors. I’m quitting, for good.” Your eyes drag up to meet his. "This job—it's not very good for me. I-I'm not happy anymore."

He raises an eyebrow at the admission.

"Well, I haven't been for a while," you admit with a laugh. The realization of your wording hits you, and you scramble to explain yourself, “A-And you’re making it better, for sure. I’m much, much better with you. I just, I need to leave this whole devil hunting gig behind me. Y’know?”

You tuck a stray piece of hair behind your ear, tentatively studying Aki's expression.

"No it's—it's good for you. You were wasting away at this job… and we can figure this out. I think we can get an apartment together.” He adds as an afterthought, “Although I worry about how Denji and Power are going to survive without me.” But Aki shakes his head and continues, “And even though I'll still be working at the Commission, you can find a job too, I’m sure you can even get a letter of recommendation from Miss Makima, and—"

You interrupt his ramblings, "Let's get married, Aki."

He freezes, dumbstruck.

Suddenly, your face grows hot, embarrassed (even though you're the one suggesting it). “It’s not a very romantic proposal, but… I’m in love with you. You’re in love with me, I hope,” you say with a laugh. “Plus, there’s tax benefits, and I can get health insurance through the Commission if we’re married.”

Aki murmurs, “And if anything happened to me…”

You bring a hand over his; thumb tracing circles over his knuckles. “Don’t say that into existence… dummy. So, will you say yes? In the middle of a crappy ramen restaurant?”

His hands encloses yours; he brings them close to his lips. Aki places a chaste kiss on your thumbs, nodding. “Yes, I’ll spend the rest of my life with you.”  

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     2. the lace

You get married first thing in the morning; Aki dons the usual Public Safety Commission uniform—this time, with actual dress shoes—and you dig out a lace ivory dress, off-the-shoulder and just long enough to reach your knees. 

“Long dresses don’t look good on me anyways,” you say with a grin.  

It’s a short trip to the municipality, only a few blocks away from the Public Safety Commission office. 

The two of you sign the certificate as soon as you enter city hall—Aki’s handwriting is practical and quick, yours is loopy and artsy. 

Your witnesses are a begrudging Denji and Power; Denji, simply jealous of the fact that Aki was tying the knot with, in his words, “a super hot chick,” (you take it as a compliment) and Power, confused at the odd human ritual of marriage: “Why do humans need a flimsy piece of paper to represent love?” 

The ceremony goes without a hitch. And since it was so rushed, you two didn’t have any time to write up vows of undying love for each other, but you said a few words anyway. 

“Aki, when I first met you, you got on my nerves. I thought, Who is this guy, and why does he have such a stick up his ass? But, then I got to know you, and I can’t even properly explain how much you’ve changed my life for the better. I can appreciate life again… because of you. I love you.”

He brushes a thumb over your cheek, swiping away at the tear tumbling down soft skin. 

“I,” Aki starts, almost struggling to find the words, “I definitely spent my time surviving, and I was just okay with it. When I became a devil hunter, I only focused on revenge, but then you came along, and now I know that there’s more to life than the past; I’m living. I love you too, and I don’t say it nearly enough.”

You don’t have any rings to exchange, but you say your “I do’s.”

And Aki brings you into a kiss, wrapping his hands around your back in an attempt to bring you as close as possible. It’s not enough. 

Power gags at the sight, and Denji scoots closer to make out all the details. 

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     3. the rings

On Saturday, Aki’s day off, you drag him to the nearest pawn shop. You saved up enough money to buy two rings, just as long as they weren’t too ornate. 

“Are you sure you don’t want to go to an actual jeweler? You deserve so much more than”—Aki makes a motion at the decrepit shop—“this.” 

“No, no.” You shake off his suggestions. “We need to save up for an apartment, right? Besides, I think the idea of something borrowed is so… romantic,”  you say with a dreamy smile. 

He concedes with an upturn of his lips; he can’t say no to such a look of happiness. 

You make your way to the glass cases chock full of rings and various jewelry pieces. You spend half-an-hour carefully picking out rings for yourself and Aki, putting them on and comparing the glint and feel of each shiny gem. 

While Aki tugs off a plain black band—he decided that it was too thick for his tastes—you make a comment, “Y’know, I never realized how big your hands are compared to mine. My thumb is the size of your pinky.” You chuckle at the observation.

He says dryly, “It’s just because you didn’t eat enough when you were younger.”

“Hey, I ate plenty! And it’s not my fault that I inherited all the short genes in my family!” you say with a huff. “Besides, aren't I still growing? I’m only 21.”

“Nope, you’re maxed out in the height department.”    

You puff out your cheeks. “You’re so mean to me, Aki.”

“Too bad you’re stuck with me.” The hint of a smile traces his features. “So, have you finally chosen the right rings yet?”

You shake your head, but your eyes drift to a set of rings that immediately capture your attention. 

“Excuse me,” you call over the employee. “I’d like to see these two, please.”

It’s a fairly simple pair of rings. For you, it’s a silver twisted band with a small pearl set in the middle—real, according to the stamp on the underside of the ring. And for Aki, it’s also a silver band, but with a stripe of pearl cutting through the length.

“It’s… beautiful,” you mutter. 

“Yeah,” Aki agrees. “I think it’s the one.”

The two leave the pawn shop, rings securely worn on left ring fingers and warm hands holding each other’s. 

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     4. the future

“Maybe I should go to college,” you say as an offhand comment. 

You're peeling potatoes and carrots and Aki is cutting them into bite size pieces; the two of you are cooking up curry in the small kitchen. You managed to find an affordable and well-kept apartment just cheap enough to rent on your savings and Aki’s income, a lucky find. 

Aki stops chopping; he entertains the thought, asking, “What brought this about?”

“Nothing, really. I was just thinking about the future, and how I want to better support us. It’s not like you can be a devil hunter forever, and I want a stable job, I guess.”

He hums at the practicality of your words. “So what would you major in?”

“Education. That was my original goal, actually. I studied super hard in high school because I wanted to teach little kids. And then… plans changed.” 

“Then you should go back to college,” he says matter-of-factly. 

“I mean it sounds nice,” you speed up at the rate of peeling, “but right now, you're our only source of decent income, my job really only covers grocery costs, and I don’t know if my hours at the restaurant are flexible enough to work around class hours and—”

Aki cuts you off, “We’ll make it work. We always do. You did manage to come up with a good amount of savings, and I think it’s enough to handle college. There’s always night-school, if you still need to manage a part-time job too.”

You break into a grin and drop the potato and peeler back into the colander, moving to give your husband a big hug. 

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” You add softly, “I really don’t deserve you sometimes.”

“No." He tightens the embrace. "You deserve the world and so much more.”    

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     5. the life

Aki trudges home at 2 AM—his new buddy wasn’t exactly amazing, so he basically had to fight the car devil solo. It took a while, essentially becoming a battle of attrition . Thankfully, backup arrived in the form of Denji and Power, and they managed to put down the devil without major injury. 

He expects you to be fast asleep by now; yes, it was the weekend, but dealing with a class full of small children must wear on you.

But he opens the door to your warm greeting, ushering him into the cozy apartment. 

“Welcome home,” you say with a tired smile. 

“Hi,” he greets, actual conversation escaping him. 

Aki shucks off his blazer, and you take it off his hands, tossing it into the laundry basket. You divest him of his blade and carefully hang it up next to the key-holder.  

“You should wash up; I’ll reheat dinner while you’re in the bath.”

He nods, moving to the bathroom with a haggard sigh. 

By the time he’s freshly clean, changed into a soft t-shirt and flannel pajama pants, there’s a hot meal on the table, and you're seated right across from it, fighting the urge to fall asleep. 

A smile paints Aki’s lips, and he watches as you rest your head on the table, drifting off into a peaceful slumber. He can’t believe that he’s married to someone like you.

So he gently picks you up and carries you bridal-style to your shared bedroom. He tucks you in with a chaste kiss to your forehead, gingerly playing with your hair. 

You hum at the warmth of the bed sheets, and murmur, “You didn’t have to carry me to bed. I can walk.”

“I wanted to,” he says softly. “You don’t have to stay up waiting for me.”

Your voice is quiet, “I wanted to. I like seeing you after a long day.”

“I like seeing you too." Eyebrows furrowing at the shadows under your eyes, he quickly says, "Good night, and sweet dreams.”

“Only… the sweetest…”

Aki smiles and waits until you're decidedly asleep before leaving the bedroom. 

He wishes this moment could last forever. 

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     + 1. the possibility 

“You’re gonna get lung cancer if you keep on smoking like that.” 

He scoffs, “As if you didn’t smoke like a chimney when you were a devil hunter.”

“Well, that’s just because everybody did it. And I was only 21 back then. You’re 25 now, and you’ve already quit devil hunting.”

"Is there any reason for me to stop?" Aki responds snarkily.

“Hey,” you start, shifting on the couch to settle onto his lap. You face him, brushing a hand over his forehead, sweeping away his dark bangs. “Quit, for me. You started smoking because you knew you weren’t going to be around for a very long time, but here we are.” Your gaze is earnest, full of love and affection. “I want to spend my life with you, and I don’t want any of our time to be cut short by something like a pack of cigarettes a day.” 

His gaze is full of rumination, of thought, of dreaming of a future, especially one with you. Aki lets out a breath.

He puts out the cigarette into the ashtray on the coffee table and concedes, “I guess I need to invest in nicotine patches.”

The biggest of smiles grace your face, and you lean in for a kiss, warm and inviting. He tastes like menthol, traces of a cigarette, but it tastes of home, and you are oh so excited for the commotion of smoke and ash and a tumultuous day-to-day to leave his life. “I love you so much.”

He returns the favor, wrapping his arms around you and savoring you; you, who is full of love and life and always smells like lavender and vanilla and of home. “And I love you too.”

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