Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Top-knot!"

Aki is trying very hard to not get irritated, but hearing Power's grating voice before he even sets foot into his apartment is already testing the limits he’s set for himself.

"What?" he starts. He comes off a little more annoyed than normal, but Power's not the type to notice little changes like that. He's too busy slipping off his shoes and throwing his coat on the rack to really care, but the more seconds that go by without a response from her, the more his irritation turns into something else.

He looks up, and Power is pouting. He lifts up his bag of groceries to show her that he has food to cook for them. Maybe she's hungry. He did take way longer than usual to get his groceries, the trains are down all over the city, but Power and Denji usually don't care about him being late. As long as he comes home with food, they forget.

Hold on, something isn't right here.

Where's Denji?

Why's Power making that face?

"Tell me what happened," Aki says on his way over to the kitchen to set the groceries down on the counter. He does a brief scan of the space for any sign of Denji, but he's nowhere to be found. Maybe he's sleeping already? But it's hardly even eight o'clock.

"It wasn't me!" Power whines, meeting Aki in the kitchen, making sure that he’s seeing her face as if it’s helping to prove something. Aki sets the groceries that need to stay cool in the refrigerator.

"I believe you. Just tell me what happened," Aki says with a sigh when he turns to face her completely. He's not exactly sure what he's agreeing to believe here, he hasn't even accused her of anything, but he'd like to know what's going on.

"Something's wrong with Denji! He won't get up. He slept in all day," she claims, her voice wobbly. "But I didn't do it!"

"Okay, you don't need to defend yourself a hundred times," he tells her. "What do you mean he slept all day? You guys didn't patrol?"

"I am not supposed to go on patrol without Denji," Power huffs. Aki knows that, of course, he’s just surprised he didn’t hear about it from anyone.

"I know. Just clarifying," Aki says with a sigh. He figures Power probably won't give him much more helpful information, so he'll need to go to Denji himself, wherever he is. "He's in his room?"

Power nods, already ready to follow him in.

Aki's not sure what he was expecting, but he was far more ready to expect a prank than Denji curled up in his bed like that, facing away from the door. The lights are all off, aside from a night-light Power decided to plug in for Denji a few weeks ago, and the blinds are shut, but it's already dark out anyway.

"Denji?" Aki starts, stumbling a little on his way over before kneeling down beside his futon. Denji doesn't move at all but Aki can tell that he's awake by his unsteady breaths. He waves a hand in front of his face, but not close enough to truly bother him.

He definitely has a fever, and that doesn't make any sense to him. Can devils get sick? He's never seen any of his fiend coworkers ill before, he doesn't think, so Aki's immediately much more concerned than he normally would be.

He pauses for a second before thinking of his next steps. Aki would be inclined to believe that they’re pulling a prank on him, but Power's being far too quiet for him to really think that's the case. She's sitting right inside the door now, pouting, looking to Aki for some answers.

Does he need to call Makima? Is this serious? What should he do?

"Denji," he starts again in a whisper, trying to see if he's responsive at all.

His eyes finally roll forward to look at Aki, but it doesn't look like he has the will or energy to move. He can't recognize his expression. Denji isn't usually hard to read, but sometimes he thinks the kid doesn't know what he's feeling. Is he confused? Scared, maybe? Aki can't tell, but regardless, he needs help.

Aki needs to take his temperature. The fact that he hasn't said a word really can't be good at all. He lays a hand over Denji's forehead just to make sure his assumption is right, and he's honestly much warmer than Aki was expecting. Denji whimpers when Aki takes his hand away. He can imagine it feels nice, with a fever like that. It’s been pretty cold outside, his hands are probably still reflecting that.

"I'll be right back," Aki promises him. He just needs to find a thermometer, he knows he has one laying in a drawer somewhere.

He starts to scramble through the cabinets and drawers for it once he gets to the kitchen, and Power follows him.

"How long did you say he's been like this?" Aki asks her as he closes one drawer to open another.

"He was not like that before," she mumbles.

"What was he like before?" he asks her. He usually has to talk in circles with her like this to get information out of her, especially when she’s worried she might be in trouble, but he's gotten pretty used to it. Good at it, even.

"I tried to wake him up this morning. He told me he did not feel good and then he went back to sleep," she murmurs, once again not answering his question directly.

"So he's gotten worse. Is that right?" Aki asks her. She nods, and he breathes a sigh. "Was he okay last night?"

Power pouts. It looks like she's trying very hard to keep her mouth shut.

"Power," he sighs again. Aki got home pretty late last night. He knows they took care of themselves as far as dinner went, but they were both asleep when he got home. Apparently, he missed something. "You're not in trouble, okay? I'm just trying to figure out what's going on."

"I didn't poison him!" she shouts. There she goes, accidentally incriminating herself in an attempt to clear her name out of nowhere.

He sighs again, deciding he needs to sort through this conversation before searching for this thermometer. He leans against the counter and crosses his arms over his chest. "I don't think you poisoned him, Power."

"Good, because I did not," she says confidently.

"So what's the real story, then?"

"He…Denji…we both made dinner together. And…he was fine! It tasted fine, I was fine, he was fine, really…" she mumbles. There's something about the way she's nervously fidgeting with her shirt that tells Aki she really isn't lying this time. She's definitely hard to read most of the time, but it looks to him like she's more worried about the fact that whatever is going on with Denji right now is somehow her fault.

"Okay, and then?" he asks as nicely as he can. He doesn't want her to think he's going to blame her.

"And then…he - he threw up everything. And - he said he was okay, but he went to bed and then…and now…" Power mumbles, her head significantly lower than before.

Aki's shoulders sink. That on top of a fever certainly can’t be a good sign. "Has he thrown up today too?"

She nods. "This morning, and - and I think that was all."

"Sounds like food poisoning, then," he says with a sigh. Of course, he can't be sure with Power's vague explanation, but that's what he can gather from what he's heard. That's interesting. He wasn't aware Denji could ever fall victim to something like that, but he is still half-human, isn't he? Aki isn’t really sure anymore.

"I didn't poison him!" Power reiterates, but this time, there's tears in her eyes, and she takes Aki's arm to squeeze it like it's helping her prove a point.

"Hey, I didn't say that. I said he might have food poisoning from whatever you guys had for dinner," he assures her. He's trying to figure out how to explain it. "As in, it wasn't cooked right or it was expired. Out of your control."

"Oh," she says, dropping her shoulders as she lets go of Aki's arm. "Yes…food poisoning sounds right…"

He continues his search for the thermometer, and of course, it's in the very last drawer he looks through.

He's back in Denji's room at his side soon enough, and the latter hasn't moved an inch. His breathing has slowed just a little. Maybe that means he's relaxing a little more.

Aki is able to slide the thermometer past his lips and under his tongue without even altering him, which is pretty concerning.

Now that he's getting a better look at him, he's worried this isn't food poisoning after all, maybe it just coincidentally looks like it because of how Power explained things. He looks really rough, Aki definitely doesn’t blame him for staying home today.

The thermometer reads thirty-nine and a half, and Aki clicks his tongue before he sighs. That's definitely high, and he would personally say, too high to be food poisoning. Maybe it's a stomach flu, or something similar - that would make sense.

Now, what exactly should he do?

He's pretty sure he has cooling patches laying around somewhere, and if not, maybe just a washcloth will do the trick to cool him down. Power said Denji hasn't thrown up since this morning, so maybe he's lucky and on the mend now, but the numbers on the thermometer are telling a different story. With Aki's luck, he's probably arrived just in time for the climax of this illness.

He decides doing something is better than sitting around and thinking, so he's off to the kitchen again, running a washcloth under cool water. He'll look for the cooling patches later.

Aki makes sure that Denji is lying on his back before he presses the washcloth against his forehead. He's sweating a whole bunch too, he sees the beads forming all along his hairline. He lifts his head up just for a few seconds to turn over his pillow, to give him the cooler and probably drier side of it. Denji’s expression softens just a bit, enough for Aki to believe he’s done something right.

“I did not know how to help him,” Power says so quietly that Aki barely hears her. He didn’t know she could lower her voice that much.

She’s holding her cat in the doorway, her shoulders hunched like she’s ashamed. Aki doesn’t blame her. He’s not entirely sure if fiends can get sick, and even if they could, a devil’s mind wouldn’t know any ways to remedy a human illness. Aki wished he had gotten home sooner. He feels guilty that Power had to deal with this on her own.

“It’s okay. He has a pretty high fever, that’s why he’s not himself right now,” Aki tells her quietly, and she sneaks a little closer. She kneels down on the other end of the bed, holding her cat very close to her, her eyes fixated on Denji. “We can help him by keeping him cool and dry.”

“The washcloth helps?” She asks.

“It should. We have to change it out pretty often, they don’t stay cool for long,” he says. “Making sure he’s not sweating through his clothes is important too.”

“I - I took his pants off. And changed his shirt already,” Power tells him, straightening her back a little. She makes strong eye contact with Aki.

“That’s good. That’s exactly what we need to be doing,” Aki tells her. He’s a little proud, and she is too, she’s very obviously trying to hold back a smile, but it fades as soon as she’s looking at Denji again.

Power sets her cat down on the bed and scrambles off into the kitchen. Aki has to hope she's not acting out some nonsensical plan right now. He's tempted to call out her name to ask her what she's doing, but he decides against it in favor of not bothering Denji.

Aki should probably come up with a plan himself. He shifts through options in the back of his head like it's a phone book. Public Safety has doctors on call, but as far as Aki knows, most of them don't work around this time. The doctor's offices are closed. He's heard from others that they're not very fond of caring for any devil-oriented humans, be that fiends or whatever Denji is, anyway.

Aki used to completely be on their side, and he's ashamed of it. What would they want Denji to do, then? Suffer?

Probably.

Okay, new idea. He could call someone he knows for help. He's not sure who he would call. Himeno would be good, she's taken care of him while he's been sick before, but obviously she isn't around.

His eyes drift down to Denji's face, and his stomach sinks. Does he need immediate medical attention? He really doesn't look good. He's pale and sweaty and clearly in a lot of discomfort. Aki doesn't have any idea how long he's had this high of a fever for, either. Would a regular hospital take him? Probably not, but the Public Safety hospital is at least a half-hour drive. Normally that wouldn’t be the issue, but he’s silently observed Denji’s tendency to get carsick pretty quickly in the past. He’s not sure that would mix well with his current ailment. The drive there might make things worse.

Power returns just in time as a distraction for Aki to not get too scrambled up in his thoughts. It looks like she’s filled the water pitcher up and thrown in a few ice cubes, and found a stack of washcloths somewhere. Aki didn’t even know he had a water pitcher. That’s really not a bad idea at all, it saves a trip to the kitchen.

“Good idea. Thank you,” Aki nods as she sets it down right near where Denji’s laying his head. She has that goofy prideful smile of her spreading across her face, and honestly, Aki will let her have it. “We’ll just need something to put the used washcloths in. So they don’t mess up the hardwood.”

He expects Power to make fun of him for his last comment, but she doesn’t even make a face, she just runs back off into the kitchen and comes back with an empty tupperware dish to set right next to the pitcher. “Do you think this will help him quickly?” she asks.

Aki wishes he could tell her yes, but he shakes his head. “I don’t know how long he’s had the fever, so I can’t say for sure, but since it’s this high, it’s probably going to be an issue for a while.”

“How high is too high?” she asks, sinking back down to his level with a little pout. Of course, she was expecting this to go away soon with her idea.

“He’s at thirty-nine and a half right now. I’d say…over forty is cause for real concern. But this is still too high,” Aki explains to her. He’s realizing through this that she’s probably not familiar with fevers at all, but she certainly recognized that Denji is far too warm to be comfortable. “This will help cool him off, so we have to be vigilant about it if he want his fever to go down.”

“I see…I will be vigilant…” she nods.

He’s still personally a little confused about how Denji’s gotten sick in the first place. Of course, he isn’t immune to most things that humans feel. He feels pain, fatigue, all of that, so maybe it makes sense that he could get sick, too - but most of the things he deals with can be easily fixed with a blood transfusion. Or, drinking blood.

Denji suddenly turns over, much to Aki’s surprise, towards Aki, and he’s close enough to press the top of his head up against Aki’s knee. He hears the tiniest groan from him as the washcloth on his forehead falls over onto the pillow, and he curls his body a little in on itself.

"Can't you feed him your blood?" Aki asks, deciding to involve Power in his thoughts. Maybe he’s getting a little desperate. He really doesn’t like seeing Denji like this, not at all.

Power lowers her head. "I tried. It was futile."

Aki raises a brow. "Futile, huh?"

"Yes," she insists. For some reason, she’s not wanting to elaborate, but Aki has to figure that she would have tried again by now if she thought it would work. He has a sneaking suspicion that may have caused the time Denji threw up this morning. She doesn’t want to see him suffer either, surely.

When Aki’s eyes drift back down to Denji’s twisted face, he realizes they have another issue on their hands now. He's familiar enough with Denji at this point to recognize when he's nauseous, and he's definitely about to puke. He doesn't think Denji has enough strength right now to make it to the bathroom. Aki's pretty sure there's a trash bin in here somewhere - he scrambles for it, and with barely enough time to spare, Aki has it under Denji's chin before he vomits, or at least, he tries to.

He chokes and sputters, clearly not left with much to bring up at all. By the looks of it, Denji probably hasn’t eaten anything since last night, which is a concerning thought. He’s already dry heaving much more than normal, and it honestly just sounds painful.

He’s sort of propped up by his own arm but Power’s made a quick motion to get behind him and snake an arm around his to support him, and as soon as the strain is off his own body, he practically collapses into her.

His breaths are so uneven. He doesn’t have any energy at all. He doesn’t even have anything left in his stomach to bring up.

"You're really not feeling good, are you," Aki says with a sigh. That was obvious enough before, but it’s worse to see that he’s totally unlike himself even when he’s awake.

The fact that he hasn't heard a single word from Denji is his biggest concern. Denji's mouth never quits, but he's so out of it that he's dead silent.

"Lay back down, alright? I'll leave this here in case you feel sick again," Aki tells Denji, trying to guide him back down to his pillow in case he can't actually hear him. Power lets him slip out of her grip and helps him back into a comfortable position on his bed, lying on his back.

Power is quick to grab a new washcloth, dip it in the cold water and wring it out to prepare it for Denji’s forehead, and she lays it over him as carefully as possible, almost like she’s trying not to crack an egg.

He breathes pretty heavily for a few minutes. Aki honestly isn't sure if he's going to attempt to vomit again or not at this point or if he's just trying to breathe around his nausea, but he has a feeling if he asks, he's not going to get an answer.

Aki really doesn't have any idea what he should do at this point. He needs to get some water in him, but he’s not sure it’ll stay down for even a few minutes.

"I didn't even think you could get sick like this," he mumbles under his breath, although he's fairly certain at this point that Denji can't hear him.

"He faints all the time!" Power reminds him. She’s whisper-shouting, and Aki presses a finger to his lips to remind her to keep her voice lower than that.

He raises a brow at her reminder. He doesn't really see how that correlates to their current situation. Denji faints from losing blood. "That's different."

"He has a frail human shell. It's no different to me!" Power claims rather confidently, crossing her arms over her chest. She really acts like she’s got it all figured out sometimes. Aki should borrow some of her confidence. "Like an egg."

Aki's a bit thrown off by that comparison. "I think an egg is a little too fragile for him. Maybe a crab."

Power is suddenly drooling. Aki is already holding back a sigh, realizing he's made a mistake. He’s glad he didn’t suggest a creature that can regrow limbs instead, like an axolotl, because he already knows what Power’s question is. "Can we have crab for dinner…"

"No."

She does sort of have a point, though. Denji does faint fairly often from losing blood, which is a pretty human thing to do, and certainly a big sign of physical weakness. Maybe he's not above illness after all. He halfway came to that conclusion before, but this has solidified it in his brain.

He’s starting to think he needs someone's help. He doesn’t think he can rely on Power to help make any important decisions if she’s not familiar with how illnesses affect humans, especially if it comes down to a hospital visit in the end.

Should he call Angel?

No, that wouldn't be helpful at all. Angel is probably the least helpful option out of anyone that he could possibly think of. He can’t physically help in most cases, and he’s also one of the laziest devils Aki has ever met, but still, his image lingers in his mind. Makima could help too, but Aki would be lucky if she caught her on a night when she's actually in Tokyo.

Maybe he just needs someone to keep him sane. Power will eventually drive him up a wall.

“Stay with him. I need to make a call,” Aki tells her quietly. He stands up and attempts to not make too much noise before he’s out in the kitchen, already dialing Angel’s number.

He finds himself stopping mid-way, and he curses at himself under his breath. Does he really know Angel’s number off the top of his head? Part of him thinks he should whip open his phone book and just read it off of there to spare him this realization, but he’s already here.

And Angel answers way faster than Aki expects him to.

"Hey," he huffs. Maybe he should've been a little more formal, but once again, he’s too late. He finds himself tugging at the phone cord for some reason. Is he nervous? Why on earth is he nervous?

"Um, hey?" Angel says. "You're weird. Why're you calling me? I was busy."

"I think I need your help. Or maybe just someone to sit around so I don't lose my mind," he's trying to make it obvious he's joking on that last bit with the inflection in his tone, but he's a little serious. Maybe this whole situation is making him nervous and it’s just coming out now because he doesn’t have to put on a front for Angel like he does for Power.

He’s tempted to make a comment about Angel claiming he was busy. He picked up the phone really damn fast for someone who is busy.

"Interesting request. Why?" Angel asks after a pause.

"Denji's pretty sick,” Aki says with a sigh, leaning against the counter.

"Hm. Chainsaw?" he confirms, "didn't think he could get sick."

"I didn't think so either."

"I'm not very helpful in your scenario. You could've called literally anyone else," Angel reminds him.

"I know," Aki answers. He's already asked him for help, there's no sense at all in defending himself at this point. He thinks he ended up calling Angel because he’s the most comfortable with him. He trusts him. Angel isn’t unreasonable, he helps keep his head straight.

“Hm…okay. I’ll get someone to drive me,” Angel decides. He yawns. “What’s your apartment number again? Three F or something?”

Aki pauses for a second. He doesn’t think he’s given Angel directions to his apartment before. He’s led him there a few times after patrols for various reasons, but he didn’t think Angel ever paid attention to where they were. “How did you remember that?”

Angel pauses as well. “Anyway. I’ll be there shortly, Hayakawa.”

Well, looks like he’s caught him remembering slightly embarrassing information, too, judging by the sudden insulting use of his last name. Aki doesn’t feel so bad about remembering Angel’s entire phone number.

He walks back over to Denji’s room, where he’s still in the same position, and Power is still watching him closely, like she expects him to wake up and be himself again at any second in the near future.

“Have you eaten yet?” Aki asks her.

She lifts her head. “No, I have not.”

“I’ll make you something. I didn’t bring crab, though,” he tells her.

“That is okay…crab is quite expensive…” she seems to recall. Power and Denji have come shopping with him a few times. Denji understands far too well how expensive certain things can be, almost to the point of trying to cut costs for Aki without really needing to - but Power doesn’t have much of a concept for cheap versus expensive at all.

He’s glad she’s getting it. Maybe he should get them crab for dinner sometime.

He starts to busy himself in the kitchen with preparing something for them to eat. He decides on frying the pork he got earlier and maybe some rice, something easy for Denji to stomach if he’s willing to eat.

Aki’s a little concerned with the fact that he hasn’t had anything to eat at all. He understands that food was something pretty hard to come by for him in the past, and he really doesn’t like to waste any food. Aki appreciates it at times, but it’s been a detriment to Denji before - he’s forced himself to finish food when he’s not hungry before, and he recalls Denji being unreasonably upset with himself or burning or dropping food before when he’s cooking for someone other than himself.

He’s concerned that he hasn’t eaten anything because he’s afraid of wasting it by way of vomiting. Aki doesn’t want him to think that way at all. But maybe he’s getting ahead of himself. Maybe Denji will take the food with no issue.

Aki decides he needs to focus on making dinner, and not all of these thoughts swarming around in his head.

“Can we still go play catch later? Mom said I can’t right now.”

Aki shudders at the voice of his little brother in his head. Why? Why is he hearing that now? That’s the last thing he needs.

He hisses, and realizes too late that he’s somehow managed to burn his hand on the stovetop through getting lost in his own head. It hurts a lot more than Aki expects it to. He lets it run under the faucet for just a few seconds, probably not long enough to actually do anything, but he just ends up standing there and staring into the sink.

“I don’t need you in my head right now, Taiyo,” he mumbles under his breath.

There’s a knock on his door. Great timing, Angel.

Aki opens the door for him and obviously looks stressed enough to earn a look from the devil standing in his doorway, but he doesn’t end up commenting on it. His eyes instead travel to the hand that Aki didn’t realize he was holding up.

“What’d you do to your hand?” he asks, walking himself in before Aki closes the door behind him.

“Burned myself on accident. It’s fine,” Aki mumbles. It hurts, but Aki feels ridiculous for thinking it does. He’s dealt with so much worse. He’s dealt with more stabs and slices than a piece of fruit.

“It doesn’t look fine. Were you testing your skin’s limits? How was that an accident?” Angel huffs. He sounds like his mother. “You should run that under some water.”

“I did.”

Angel raises a brow as he pulls off his shoes. He doesn’t take off his blazer, he never does. He wonders if it’s just an annoying thing to do, because of his wings. “For how long?”

Aki sighs and decides to fudge his answer to avoid further scolding. “A few minutes.”

“Not long enough. Twenty minutes, at least,” Angel chides, allowing himself into the kitchen and turning on the sink for Aki, waving him over. “Shouldn’t a human know better wound care for his own body than a devil? Humans are so confusing.”

“Okay, okay,” Aki sighs, doing as he’s told. He leans his elbow against the counter and lets the cool water run over the burn. Now that he’s getting a better look at it, it definitely doesn’t look nice. It’s a lot redder than he realized, and it’s already starting to blister. This is really the last thing he needed.

Angel’s already busied himself with the pork and rice on the stove, without any indication from Aki to do so. He feels a little guilty, but he appreciates it. Aki needs to pay better attention next time.

“So, Chainsaw. Denji, sorry,” Angel starts, “you said he’s sick? How sick?”

“He has a thirty nine point five degree fever,” Aki tells him. "And he's been throwing up."

Angel clicks his tongue. "Hmm…pretty high."

"We're trying to keep it under forty. If it goes over that…we'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

"Fair plan. I'm sure he'll be fine, though," Angel says. “Being part devil and all.”

Aki nods. He's hoping for that, at least.

Angel does a pretty good job cooking, for a devil. The two devils Aki lives with can't cook a meal to save their lives, at least not without help, so he's surprised that Angel seems to know what he's doing, but he's definitely more surprised that he's willing to do it at all. He’s the most vocal hater of his job Aki knows.

Aki tries to turn off the sink early, but Angel glares at him as soon as he hears the water stop running, so he turns it back on. It does feel nice, but he feels guilty. This only happened because he wasn't paying attention.

"Why is Angel Devil here?" Power asks as she wanders into the kitchen. She must have heard his voice and decided to investigate.

"Okay, talking about me like I'm not here, thank you," Angel grumbles under his breath. Aki doesn't think Power hears him.

"He's just here to help us," Aki assures her.

Power looks at Aki and then back at Angel, and then decides she's going to stand over him and watch him cook. Angel leans as far away from her as possible while still within reach of the pans.

"Do you want to go to Hell?" Angel huffs, deciding to finally step away from her.

"To Hell? " she repeats, visibly shuddering at the mention of the word.

"If a fiend touches me, they get sent back to hell. Since I can't shorten a lifespan that doesn't have an end," Angel explains, but Aki's surprised to hear this. He didn't know Angel's ability worked on fiends at all.

"I do not want to go to Hell…" Power mumbles.

"Okay, so go back to taking care of Chainsaw," Angel tells her.

" Denji …his name is Denji…" Power pouts at him.

" Denji . Sorry. Go back to taking care of him,” Angel says, and surprisingly enough, she obeys, and disappears back into their room.

“Makima never told me you could do that to fiends,” Aki says to him, a brow raised.

“It’s not true. I don’t think I do anything to fiends,” Angel says. “I just don’t need anyone to get in the habit of touching me.”

Aki can’t help but feel sad at the thought.

Eventually, he reaches the twenty-minute mark, and honestly, the thing hurting him more than the burn is the fact that the water was running for that long - but it does feel a lot better. It doesn’t look as red as it was before.

“Does it hurt less?” Angel asks him, briefly turning around when he hears the water stop.

“A lot less,” Aki nods. “I should probably cover it, right?”

“Yeah,” Angel agrees, peering it over a little closer. “Looks like it’s blistering. Put some Vaseline on it too.”

"Thanks. You're an Angel," Aki jokes.

Angel makes a very disgusted face. "Gross. Stop that."

Aki honestly isn’t sure if he has vaseline, but he knows his first aid stuff is somewhere in the bathroom. Maybe it’s in with all of that.

“Go take care of that. I’ll finish this. Just this pork tonkotsu and rice?”

“Yeah, that’s it. Thank you.” Aki nods. He’s relieved to have help. Angel just nods back at him, and turns again to complete what Aki started.

Aki starts to head to the bathroom, but he can’t help but peek back into the room housing his ill roommate just to make sure everything is going okay.

Denji hasn’t moved, and doesn’t look any better or worse - of course, it hasn’t been long at all, but Aki is secretly hoping Denji will magically feel better, deep down, just as Power seems to. She’s sitting very close to him, hovering over his face.

She looks sad. He doesn't think she has the capacity to really be concerned, but if she did, maybe that's the face she would make - but maybe he’s wrong. Maybe she really is worried about him.

"Hey…Denji. Wake up," she pouts, poking his cheek with a too-sharp nail. Denji’s face twitches, but he doesn’t wake up.

"Don't wake him. He needs to sleep off his fever," Aki whispers, taking a few steps closer.

"But he's scaring me," Power mumbles back, sitting up straight to meet Aki’s gaze. Her eyes almost look watery. They’re glistening.

Aki tilts his head. "Why?"

"Is he going to die?" Power asks, suddenly much more quietly than she just spoke. Like she’s afraid Denji will really hear her.

"No, of course not. You know that," Aki says with a sigh.

"But what if he does?" Power asks, without missing a beat.

What if he does?

Aki shakes his head. No. He's fine. Denji can’t die, it seems literally impossible, as far as Aki is aware. It’s irrational to think something bad would happen to him, but the fact that he even has a fever in the first place is making him question what he knows.

“He’s going to be okay, Power, but I need you to let him rest,” Aki tells her. Power lowers her head but she still nods, even if she doesn’t seem entirely happy with that answer.

Aki heads back into the bathroom in search of the first aid kit, one that he’s pretty sure Himeno gifted to him when he moved into this apartment. He’s never had to use it. It’s still in the very bottom left drawer, and he takes it out - there’s just enough stuff to wrap up his hand and even some Vaseline. Perfect.

He appears in the kitchen again, already having applied some Vaseline to the burn - it definitely stung like a bitch, and he didn’t want to whine in front of Angel - so he’s wrapping his hand up now.

"Can devils get sick? Or fiends?" Aki asks after a few minutes of silence shared between them. Angel seems to be pretty close to finishing the food.

"I've never been sick. Fiends? I dunno. Never seen one sick," he shrugs. He doesn’t turn around. "Doesn't mean anything, though. Also, Chainsaw's not technically a fiend or a devil, is he?"

"Not technically, I guess," Aki shrugs back.

"So my answer wouldn't matter regardless. He is sick, so that answers your question."

"I'm just…concerned about it being something worse,” Aki mumbles.

“What worse thing could it possibly be?” Angel asks him.

Aki doesn't know, that's the problem. He just sighs.

Angel finishes cooking, for which Aki thanks him several times, much to the Devil's dismay. It looks pretty good considering Angel’s diet mostly consists of flesh and blood, but clearly, he has a soft spot for human food, too. If the ice cream obsession didn't already make that clear.

Aki tells Angel he can have whatever he'd like of it before he disappears back into Denji and Power's room with a bowl of rice. Aki expects Power to spring back out into the kitchen at the promise of food, but she doesn't even seem sure if she's hungry.

"Go eat. Pretty sure you haven't had an actual meal since breakfast," Aki says, halfway posing it as a question even though he knows the truth. Denji isn't a very good cook and Power is the worst of the worst, so if Denji doesn't even have the energy to get up, he doubts Power has had anything of nutritional value at all.

She leaves, begrudgingly, lingering in the doorway for a few moments before Angel calls her into the kitchen.

Denji's awake, it looks like. He's laying on his side, facing the door, staring off into nothing. He doesn't acknowledge Aki's presence at all, which quickly dismisses his hopes of Denji feeling any better.

He kneels down beside his head, and only then do Denji's eyes move, but nothing else. He's looking right at Aki, but he looks absolutely miserable. Aki places the bowl of rice behind him.

"You look like crap," Aki tells him, and he knows it's bad when Denji doesn't say anything back, he doesn't even make a face. He doesn't have the energy to. All Aki gets is a whimper. Even so, Aki can hear him saying, thanks, captain obvious, like he's communicating it telepathically.

Denji's gaze falls back down.

"I need you to sit up for a minute," Aki tells him.

Denji really doesn't look like he can do that himself, big surprisingly, he tries anyway. He tries to prop himself up on an elbow and use his other arm to go from there. He doesn't have the strength and Aki knows that, so he doesn't let him struggle, and instead decides to help him sit up from there.

Denji exhales when he's sitting, like he's been holding his breath that whole time, and Aki takes the opportunity to take the bowl of rice into his hands and offer it to the latter.

He looks down at the rice, and then back at Aki. You're kidding, right? He seems to be saying.

“You need to eat something, Denji. Even if it’s just a little bit," Aki tells him. He tries to move it a little closer to his hands so that Denji might be more inclined to take it from him, but he just stares at Aki.

Denji shakes his head.

Aki sighs, dropping the rice bowl back down. “Are you worried about wasting food?”

Denji looks at him for a few seconds before lowering his gaze again.

“It’s just rice. Rice is cheap, you know that. If you get sick it’s okay, I have more here and I can always go out and get more,” Aki tries to assure him as kindly as possible. He had a feeling this was going to happen. "And even if it wasn't cheap. It's okay."

He knows it’s hard to break that kind of mentality when that was the reality he was living for so long, but it truly hurts Aki to think Denji could possibly feel any guilt about something like this. Denji refusing food at all is enough to cause concern.

“I’d rather you have something in your stomach than nothing. Pretty sure you don't want to dry heave again, do you?" Aki asks.

He thinks that Denji's starting to realize that Aki won't back down. They're both equally stubborn, but today, Aki can easily overpower him.

Aki tries to hand him the bowl again, but when Denji finally gives up and tries to take it, Aki realizes his hands are shaking. He's not really sure why. It could be chills from his fever. Maybe he's nervous. Regardless, Aki decides to feed him. He takes the chopsticks and brings them up to Denji's mouth.

He's done this for his little brother before.

"You have to be more careful, Aki," his mother had scolded him. He remembers thinking that really, there wasn't a more careful way to spoon feed someone, and he still feels the same way. His parents were always overly protective of Taiyo in ways like that.

He's not sure why his mind keeps going back home today. He has days like this sometimes where his family just keeps coming back to the backs of his eyelids, and it brings a heavy feeling in his chest along with it. It's painful.

Denji only takes a few tablespoons or so before he turns his head away, and Aki decides he can't force him further. He can't imagine this is going to stay down at all, but he can hope.

There's a glass of water that's still there from earlier, and Aki hands it to Denji with no instruction, just with a hope that he'll drink at least something, and he does. His hands are still shaking, and he doesn't drink more than a few sips, but it's better than nothing.

He's worried about him getting dehydrated, if he isn't already. He's not sure how much longer the kid's nausea will last, and how much longer he can get him to eat or drink anything at all. Aki wishes he had more medical training. If he did, he could find out a way to give him fluids through an IV, but there isn't any sense in wondering about something he can't do.

"Do you need anything?" Aki asks him. Denji's already curling back into his sheets on his bed, not looking very interested in what Aki's offering. He's going to take that as a no , or maybe a go away , but either way Aki decides rest is probably the best thing he can get right now.

He gets up quietly and carefully with the rice bowl and carefully closes the door, but Power has already beaten him to it, closing the door behind her as she disappears back into the room too fast for Aki to really process almost like she was timing how fast she could do it.

Angel is sitting in the living room at the table, looking vaguely impressed, but not enough to comment on it. He turns back to his food, and Aki decides to get a plate of his own to join him.

"Would've been better with curry," Angel comments when Aki takes a seat across from him, only because Angel scowls when Aki tries to sit anywhere close to him. The latter seems to think Aki is far more reckless than he really is.

"Probably," Aki shrugs, taking a few bites of the rice, "I make good curry."

"Do you?" Angel challenges.

"Mm. Maybe next time," Aki decides. "Thanks again for taking over this for me."

"I was hungry. Can't rely on someone with a burnt hand to feed me," Angel scoffs, almost sounding completely serious if Aki didn't really know him.

They both end up finishing their food, and Aki takes both of their dishes and heads over to the kitchen to clean them off, joining Power's on the counter. Aki takes them into the sink, apparently inviting Angel to sit on the counter next to the sink. He's found a popsicle that Aki didn't know they had, but he decides not to question it further.

"Did you work today?" Aki asks him as he busies himself with his dishes.

"Uh-huh. Your call saved me from getting roped into paperwork," Angel tells him.

Aki gives him a dry laugh. "Glad I could help."

He hears something like a cough, or maybe a halfway choke through the sound of the running water, and when he turns the water off, he realizes Denji must be throwing up again. He was expecting it, sure, but that doesn't make him any less disappointed.

He appears in the doorway, deciding not to rush in and crowd him, and it seems like Power's already taken it upon herself to comfort and look after him.

Power is being rather considerate. She seems just as nervous and unsure as she was before, but she's still rubbing his back and reassuring him quietly, and it seems to be helping. Clearly the rice and water he had is already out of his system, unfortunately, so now he’s just dry heaving again - but he’s breathing a little easier thanks to Power. He's leaning against her for support. He definitely needs it.

Denji lays down on his own after a little while, and he whimpers. He's in pain and uncomfortable and overwhelmed, he can see it all on his face, the way it’s twisted up. Aki can imagine how much it sucks. That fever certainly isn’t making things any easier for him. Aki leans in the doorway and sighs, starting to worry about what to do next.

Denji lays his head on Power's lap, and she repositions herself to make it more comfortable for him. She ends up patting his hair just like she does with her cat, and Denji’s always been quick to fall asleep, but it’s almost like that motion puts him into a spell, and he’s completely relaxed and out cold. He’s lucky, he’s pretty sure anyone as sick as him would have a pretty difficult time trying to fall asleep.

Aki hasn't been sick in a long time.

He remembers being down with the flu at Himeno's, probably a year or so after he joined Public Safety. He hardly remembers any of it, he was too sick to move most of the time, He does remember not being able to sleep, but it was the nightmares that kept him up. Over and over, every time he closed his eyes, it was some horrible sequence tricking him into thinking he was with his family again, only to have them ripped away at his hand.

He knows Denji has nightmares, too, but he never seems to remember what they’re about. He hopes that they won’t plague him while he’s sick, that’s really the last thing he needs.

Power seems to realize only then that Aki is standing in the doorway, and she pouts as soon as they make eye contact,

"Denji's tummy is very upset," Power mumbles, like she's expecting Aki to have a quick fix for it.

"I know," Aki sighs. "He'll be okay, he just needs to get it all out of his system."

Power is very careful when she takes Denji’s head and lowers it down to the pillow. She pulls the blanket up to his shoulder, and right then, Aki feels her cat rub against his leg. It startles him for a second, it always does, he’s not used to cats walking around his apartment.

Meowy is always unbothered by his reactions. She’s unbothered by most things. She is, after all, the pet of a fiend, and it’s her fiend that she begins walking towards. 

"Come, Meowy. You must sleep with Denji. But only tonight," Power commands her kindly, reaching a hand out to beckon the cat towards her

The cat curls up in the space between his arms almost immediately, like she truly understood Power’s request. Aki blinks, thoroughly surprised. He’s not even sure he’s ever seen a dog as obedient as this cat. Denji's expression softens, even in his sleep.

Denji has a tendency to sleep like that. He never starts out that way, but Aki’s caught him a few times in the middle of the night with his pillow between his arms instead of under his head, and he decided after a few times to go out and get a second pillow for him. He never mentioned it to him, he simply let Denji assume it was always there.

He knows that Power is not incredibly fond of Meowy spending nights with Denji, so it must mean something that she wants her to sleep with him while he’s ill. She knows it’s a comforting presence, even if she doesn’t know why.

Aki doesn’t know why, at least.

"Pochita…" Denji murmurs, shifting a little in his sleep.

"No, it's Meowy," Power makes sure to tell him. "Pochita is d-"

Aki immediately silences her, making a hissing sound like he's watching a cat scratch furniture. He knows Power doesn't mean any harm, but he's pretty sure that reminder is one of the last things Denji needs right now. Power’s shoulders sink at the realization of what she had almost done and she looks to Aki for forgiveness, and he simply shakes his head.

“You’re not in trouble. Just be careful,” Aki tells her very quietly. “Dab at his forehead with a washcloth, I’ll be right back to check his fever.”

“The thermometer is here…” Power mumbles, turning around to look for it. It’s behind her, covered in a washcloth. She hands it to Aki as he walks over, like she doesn’t trust herself to do it.

"I'm just getting your temperature again," Aki tells Denji, even though he seems pretty dead asleep. He slides it past his lips again and he doesn’t stir, thankfully, It beeps, and Aki huffs. Thirty nine point nine.

“Is it better?” Power asks, her tone hopeful, but Aki shakes his head. He’s already reaching for another washcloth, and he takes one to place under Denji’s shirt on his chest, and another on his forehead. He’s not in the best position for it on his side, but he’s hoping Denji won’t move much in his sleep - and at this point, it’s better than nothing.

"You can go to sleep too, Power. It’s getting late,” Aki realizes when he peers over at the clock. It’s two hours from midnight now, and he’s not sure how it’s going to go tomorrow with their patrol, but he would rather Power get the sleep if she can.

She takes the suggestion although not very happily, like a child who's been told to go to bed early.

"Not too close to Denji," Aki tells her as she gets under the covers beside him.

She makes a face at him. "Why not?"

"Your body heat will be too warm for him. We need his temperature to go down," Aki tells her. It's a shame. It's really better for the both of them that they sleep close together, especially because Aki is worried about Denji having a nightmare, but he knows body heat from another person won't do him any good at all.

"I suppose so…" she sighs, scooting herself a bit further away from him so that there's at least three feet of space.

"I'll come check on him every now and then. You just try to sleep," Aki says.

"Okay…"

"Good night, Power," he says as he starts to shut the door.

"Night…"

Seeing her so down is really disheartening. He can't imagine how stressed she must have been all day with Denji in this condition, she seems to be at the point now where she's just defeated.

He closes the door behind him, and finds that Angel is still sitting on the counter, but now, with a new popsicle. Aki only realizes it because the color has changed from blue to red.

"You're going to have to start paying me back for those," Aki sighs.

"Won't you take pity on me? I've had a hard life. Much longer than yours," he half-complains as he slides off the counter, holding his eye contact with Aki. He sticks his tongue out. “Is my tongue still blue? I’m trying to cancel it out with red.”

Aki almost laughs. It’s definitely not red. “It’s like…mauve.”

“Okay, human, I don’t understand your made up colors, so please explain what on earth that means.”

“It’s like, a reddish purple,” Aki explains, resisting the urge to laugh. “We should go into my room. I don’t want to wake them up.”

Angel doesn’t need to be told twice, he’s already headed for Aki’s room, walking in sideways to avoid hitting his wings against the door frame. It’s a little funny, that a devil, a creature born from hell, has to walk sideways into Aki’s bedroom, but he’ll spare the latter from the joke. He’s sure he’s far too aware of that.

“How’s Chainsaw?” Angel asks, taking a seat on the windowsill.

“Not better. His fever got worse. And he didn’t keep down what he ate earlier,” Aki sighs. His tone is a little shaky as he talks about it, he realizes. He’s really starting to worry. He doesn’t know what to expect.

"Not judging. But why do you care so much? It's not like he'll die from whatever this is," Angel murmurs. He takes a bite from the popsicle. “He’ll be fine in the morning, probably.”

"I don't know," Aki huffs. He doesn’t like seeing Denji so sick. He knows that Denji won’t die, rationally, but even so, even if it were a fact that Denji will be back to perfect health in five minutes, it doesn’t change that he’s miserable now. But for some reason, he can’t admit this out loud. “Sit on the bed. I need to close the blinds.”

Angel sighs, mildly annoyed as he moves onto the bed, spreading his wings out and laying backward. He takes another bite from the popsicle.

Aki closes the blinds and turns on the lamp on his nightstand. He’s only just now realizing he never got a chance to change out of his uniform. He should put on a clean set of clothes and start these in the wash with the rest of his laundry. He pulls out whatever is easiest to reach and stands over by his door. “I’ll be right back. I need to change.”

“You can change in here. I don’t care,” Angel says, not moving an inch from his spot.

Aki wishes he knew why his ears feel hot.

“Okay,” Aki murmurs. He’s not sure why he’s agreeing.

“I won’t look. Weirdo,” Angel tells him. He’s entirely too focused on his popsicle to care.

So, Aki changes. He doesn’t think he’s changed in front of anyone before, anyone other than Himeno. Denji and Power have walked in on him changing several times, but they don’t seem to care at all, and honestly, Aki has gotten to the point where he doesn’t care either. So why does he care that Angel’s in here?

He’s not sure, but he buries the thought.

He sets his old clothes off to the side once he’s finished changing, and it looks like Angel has finally finished his popsicle. He’s just staring at the ceiling with his arms splayed out over his wings, his eyes lost somewhere.

He wonders if he’s okay, which is never something Aki would have found himself wondering about a devil before.

Aki sits on the other side of the bed, which gets an immediate reaction out of Angel - he snaps his body forward and brings the wing and arm closest to Aki as far away from him as he can, and he stares at him in confusion and disbelief. Aki stares back. He didn’t think he was close enough to do anything.

“What is wrong with you?” Angel murmurs. His voice is shaking, almost. “Are you trying to die?”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think I was that close to you,” Aki tells him. Angel’s shoulders relax, and maybe he’s realizing that Aki wasn’t really that close after all, but he doesn’t say anything. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“You didn’t - “ Angel starts, but he stops himself, he falls backwards onto the bed again, this time, his wings nearly folded over himself, and his hands crossed over his chest. There’s a heavy sigh from him, but he doesn’t continue any of his thoughts.

"What if you just put on some gloves?" Aki asks after a few minutes of silence.

Angel just stares at him.

Aki thinks it's a pretty good idea, but something about that look on his face is telling him he's wrong.

"What? You told me it's safe through cloth," Aki says.

"It is," Angel murmurs.

"Then why not?"

"It's not worth the risk. For you or for me."

Aki isn't really sure what risks he's talking about. Spontaneous holes appearing in gloves? He's not sure, but either way, he can gather from this that Angel is afraid. There's guilt, deep-seeded guilt, which is a concept Aki thought devils couldn't understand.

Aki lays back against the bed.

"Have you ever…has anyone ever died on accident? Because of your ability?" he asks him. He's not sure he's entitled to this information at all, and he's not even sure why he's asking.

He sees Angel nod out of the corner of his eye.

"Plenty of times."

Aki pauses. "A lot of people?"

"Not many. But enough." Enough to make him so overly cautious, Aki guesses.

He's thinking about something. Aki thinks it's been on his mind the whole time, but now it's getting to him. But he's trying to push it away.

"What's on your mind?"

"The humans I've killed always come back to haunt me in my dreams," he says quietly, "there's…there's one that I always see over and over. But I don't remember her."

"At all?"

"I remember I loved her. She…she loved me too, I think," he says. His voice is so distant. "I've been seeing her a lot more recently. It must've…"

It looks like he's decided he doesn't want to elaborate. Aki's heart sinks. He remembers something Makima told him, but he doesn't have any idea if these are related. She told him Angel killed everyone in the village he was from and turned them into weapons.

That's something that's always rubbed him the wrong way. Surely Makima wouldn't lie to him. It was a warning, a show of Angel's strength, but it doesn't line up with the Angel he's come to know. Why would Angel do such a thing? Clearly, guilt is something he feels, and very strongly at that. He doesn't enjoy using his ability at all.

“You shouldn’t say you killed them. It’s your ability. They died because of your ability," Aki tells him. He thinks that's a pretty rational way to look at it, but the way Angel sighs tells him he doesn't agree.

“It doesn’t matter how you word it,” he says quietly, “It’s all the same.”

He's seen guilt on Angel's face before, using his ability, but the guilt right now is almost tangible. Aki's not sure why he's wasting his time trying to make a devil feel better about something, but he can't help it, especially when he looks so - sad.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up bad memories for you," Aki says.

"I wish that's what you did. I'd rather remember it than just…be stuck trying to remember," he sighs, pressing his palms up to his eyelids. He's frustrated.

Aki isn't sure it's something he should bring up to him at all, but he's speaking before he has a chance to decide against it. "Makima told me…about what happened in the village you're from."

Angel doesn't look like he has any idea what Aki is talking about. His expression twists and he says what village? under his breath, like he's asking himself.

Maybe Makima has him mixed up with someone else. Surely Angel would remember killing everyone in his village, that's not a little thing that would be forgotten with time.

There's a frantic knock on the door, and by the time Aki sits up, Power has already opened the door and wandered in. She grabs Aki's arm and tries to pull him off the bed. Her hands are shaking.

"Power, what is it?" he asks, his tone urgent. He doesn't try to stop her, because clearly something's wrong, but he would like an explanation first.

"Denji is having a nightmare. I don't know how to fix it," she mumbles helplessly, turning to look at him with near tears in her eyes.

Aki bites the inside of his lip. Dammit, why did he have to be right?

Power runs back off into the room and expects Aki to follow close behind. Aki finds himself in the doorway soon enough, not expecting Denji to be thrashing around in Power's arms. She's using all of her strength to keep him still, but he's overpowering her.

"Denji," Aki breathes out in a panic as he scrambles to his side. The first thing he does is hold his arms down because he's holding them over his head defensively, but as soon as he has a grip on one, the other one swings and gets him right in the eye.

Aki doesn't really have time to react, he needs to focus on getting Denji to calm down. He's stuck in whatever he's dreaming about and he can't get out. Aki gets him pinned down against the bed with both arms above his head. His whole face is twisted up and he's nor breathing right at all.

"Hey, you're fine, hear me? Nothing's happening to you," Aki assures him. He's leaning over him, still pinning his arms down.

Denji doesn't seem to hear his reassurances. He's almost panting from how out of breath he is, and he's still actively trying to pull out of Aki's grip.

"Get a cold washcloth for him," he tells Power, who nearly scrambles out of the door to get a new one. He's hoping that will help ground him a little bit. Power is back in no time at all with two washcloths and Aki doesn't trust Denji enough to let go, so he motions with his head for Power to do it. She presses one against Denji's forehead and the other under his shirt on his chest, just like she saw Aki do earlier. Her hands are shaking when she pulls them back up to her chest.

He's relaxed a little bit, but he's still weakly fighting against Aki's grip, so Aki decides to take his hand and squeeze it. Holding him down probably isn't helpful for whatever he's dreaming about, but he's not thrashing around anymore, so Aki trusts him enough to let go.

He doesn't try to get up. His eyes drift over to Aki and he squeezes his hand back. It sounds like it's still hard for him to get breaths in, but he's breathing deeper now, at least.

"Aki," he mumbles. He isn't all there, that's for sure, but he recognizes Aki's presence. Aki isn't sure that's a good thing. It sounds like he's begging, like he's afraid.

"I'm right here. You're in your room, Denji, you're okay," Aki tells him. He doesn't know what's plaguing his mind, he's not sure what Denji would dream about that would make him react like this.

Denji almost chokes on his breath. "I didn't…the door, I don't…"

He turns over and just barely misses Aki as he vomits.

Aki doesn't think it's from his illness, this time. He thinks he's gotten so worked up about his nightmare that it's made him physically ill.

Aki moves a hand onto his back, and he takes the cold washcloth from his forehead to press against the back of his neck, hoping it'll bring him some sort of relief. He's breathing heavily and whimpering.

His skin is so hot, Aki can feel the heat radiating from where his hand is on Denji's neck. Aki probably needs to take his temperature again, but at this point he's worried he's going to have to take him to the hospital if he sees what's on the thermometer.

Denji falls back onto his back with a groan, and his hand is searching for someone again - Power takes the opportunity to hold it and squeeze it tight, and finally, Denji seems to relax a little, but not enough to take away Aki's concern. Denji turns on his other side and curls in on himself. Power lies right across from him, not letting go of his hand once. She takes the other to cup his cheek. Denji whimpers and ducks his chin closer to his chest.

"When is Denji going to be himself again…?" Power mumbles. Aki realizes she's referencing what he told her earlier.

"I don't know," Aki whispers.

Chapter Text

When Aki looks up, Angel's standing in the doorway, partially hidden by the frame. His brow is furrowed, clearly he knows that this isn't good. He wonders how long he's been standing there.

Once Aki thinks Denji’s calmed down enough to be left alone with Power, he stands up and takes the pitcher of now room-temperature water and the pile of washcloths back into the kitchen, walking past Angel. His breath shakes when he lets go of it. He can feel his chest tightening up.

"He got your eye," Angel murmurs, following him to the sink. Aki empties the pitcher.

"It's fine," he huffs. Aki really thinks this is the least of his problems right now.

Angel seems to disagree. He looks concerned. "You should ice it."

"I'm fine. I need to…I need to figure out what to do," Aki tells him. He needs to fix Denji before he gets any worse. He's watching the water circle down the drain, and remembers holding his burn under the water. He remembers his mother giving Taiyo baths when he had bad fevers. That’s probably not a bad idea. "Maybe…a cold bath would help bring his fever down."

"Lukewarm," Angel tells him. "Cold won't be good."

"Lukewarm, okay," he nods. The next breath he takes comes a little easier to him. "I'll get that started."

He trails off to the bathroom to get the water running. He messes with the dial for a bit before deciding on something vaguely lukewarm and does the same with the shower. It might help him feel better even if it doesn't bring his fever down, he hopes.

The door opens, and Power's already helping Denji inside, apparently already commanded by Angel to do so. Denji's leaning on her almost entirely for support but she carries his weight pretty well. She leans him against the shower wall on a stool and helps him take off his nearly sweat-soaked shirt and his boxers.

Angel is in the doorway once again, and for just a few seconds, he’s exchanging a look with him. He's not quite sure what it means, he might be reminding him that he's here for help, but he closes the door and disappears.

Aki helps keep Denji steady while Power helps him undress, because he's not confident that Denji can hold himself up. Aki takes off his own socks and rolls up his pants too.

"Grab the shower head for me," Aki asks once Power puts the clothes off to the side, and she obeys.

Aki is definitely more of a fan of hot showers, and he thinks Denji is too based on his water bill since the kid moved in, but he knows that would absolutely do the opposite of what they want. He rinses his hair just enough for Power to shampoo it, and once Aki starts to rinse that, he decides that's the extent of what he needs for now, as long as most of the sweat is washed off.

"You could use a shower too. Wash your hair, I've got Denji," Aki tells her. Power pouts and grumbles, but she does as Aki asks of her.

Denji's cheeks are so hot. It makes the lukewarm water falling over his face feel cold just by association. He groans when Aki shuts off the water and leans into his hold. He starts to shiver once the water stops acting as a barrier for the air.

Aki reluctantly pulls him up, and he realizes Denji can't hold himself up at all. He supports him the best he can over to the tub and Power's already finished rinsing her hair by then, so she helps him in the best she can. Aki's only now realizing she didn't take off her shorts or her tank top, but she did technically do what Aki asked. He sighs.

Denji sinks in without much of an issue at all, but Aki can tell he's not very comfortable. It's probably considerably colder for him than Aki and Power with that fever. Ten minutes or so should be enough to help, he thinks.

Power is very careful and attentive. She pulls up a stool and pats Denji's head. She gently splashes some water up to his face for a few seconds before she scurries off to grab a washcloth from the towel rack and presses it up to his forehead, deciding that's a better idea.

Aki steps back and lets out a shaky breath. Denji really isn't looking well. "You got him for a while?"

"Yes," she nods confidently.

"Okay. Take him out in ten minutes, or if he starts shivering," Aki asks her, and she nods again before she turns her attention back to Denji. “And please take off your wet clothes. I don’t need you getting sick too.”

Power seems to be a little confused by that statement, but she nods again anyway, and only then does Aki realizes he’s worrying about her for no reason. She can’t catch a cold, can she? He really hopes not.

Aki's chest hurts.

He closes the door behind him and sees Angel sitting in the hallway right by the front door. He looks up at Aki and frowns, and Aki can't help but sigh. He can probably see all of his feelings on his face. He's embarrassed.

He walks past him to take a laundry basket from his laundry room and some fresh sheets for the two of them when they get out. He takes the old sheets into the laundry basket and once he finishes replacing them, he heads back into the laundry room. He needs to busy himself with something, but of course, it doesn't take him long at all. What else can he do? He should go look for those cooling patches. Maybe medication, too, he must have something that isn't expired.

"Aki," Angel says. He's standing in the doorway of the laundry room.

"I'm sorry," he mumbles. He's pressing his palms against his eyes, hoping that will somehow give him some clarity. Maybe a cigarette will do the trick. "I just - I know he won't die, I know that, I'm just…what if he does? Then it's my fault, right? Because I didn't do enough."

Angel looks like he doesn't know what to say. Aki realizes he's being ridiculous. Surely Denji won't die from a fever, and he knows he won't die from anything else either, so why is he so stressed? Why are his eyes burning?

"I think…I'm gonna go sit on the balcony for a few minutes," Aki mumbles. Of course, he really just means he's going to smoke and Angel definitely knows that, but for some reason he half-lies anyway. He probably needs the fresh air, too.

There's a pack out there waiting for him, and he's outside and lighting a cigarette before he realizes.

It's cold out. Aki really hates this kind of weather.

"He's going to be alright, Aki. There isn't much you could have done."

It's his mother's voice, and with it, a memory comes rushing back to him. It was a time he was home alone with Taiyo.

Taiyo was never a healthy child, but on this particular day, Aki was really fearing for his brother's life. Their parents weren't home. Taiyo woke up that morning with a fever, but by the time their mother got home, he could hardly breathe. And Aki couldn't do anything to help him.

It was only a few months before they were killed.

Is that why he's taking this so hard? He'd forgotten that memory, and the feelings just rushed back to him because of Denji's condition?

"But I need to know how to help him next time," he remembers saying. He was shaking, crying as his mother held him while they were at the hospital. He thought Taiyo was going to die. He really, truly believed that. He hands are shaking, he’s struggling to light the cigarette, but he does it just before he would start to get frustrated, and he takes in the smoke like it’s a breath of fresh air.

He hasn’t changed at all, has he?

He hears shifting behind the glass doors, and eventually, Power mumbling. He hears Angel tell her to put some clothes on, and her footsteps scurry off. He zones out for a while, letting his eyes unfocus as they follow the smoke from his cigarettes into the cold night air. His chest feels heavy. He's starting to not feel very well himself, but he's almost positive that he's just stressed himself out to get to that point.

He takes a few deep, heavy breaths. Everyone's fine. Denji's going to be fine. He doesn't need to worry about him, he's immortal. And even if he wasn't, Denji is a stubborn and resilient kid. He wouldn't let a fever kill him.

"Where is Aki?" he hears Power ask, breaking him free from his thoughts. He's surprised to hear her use his name like that.

"He's on the balcony. But you shouldn't bother him right now," Angel tells her. He sounds much closer to the balcony door than she is. He's not sure they know how easily he can hear them.

Power doesn't say anything for a few moments. "Is Aki sad? Did I upset him?"

He bites his lip. Dammit, he didn't mean to come off like that.

"No, I don't think you upset him," Angel says. "I think he's just got a lot on his mind."

"Like what?" Power asks.

Angel sighs. "I don't know, blood fiend. Ask the telepathy devil."

"Where can I find this devil?" Power asks. He can imagine her puffing her chest with confidence, happy to take on a challenge that Angel didn't realize he to gave her.

Aki can practically hear Angel's stare. "Go look after - look after Denji. Quit bothering me," Angel puffs.

"You are not very nice. For an Angel,” Power says. Her pouting is just as audible as Angel’s glaring.

"Yeah, yeah. Good night."

"Good night…"

He hears her footsteps recede and the door to their bedroom close, and there's silence. He sort of expects Angel to stay where he is, but he hears the glass door start to slide open.

Angel peeks over at him and scrunches his nose.

"That stuff smells terrible. I don't understand why humans knowingly shorten their lifespans for a terrible smell," he complains, side-stepping out onto the balcony despite his complaints.

Aki scoffs. That's a jab at him in more ways than one.

Angel decides to sit on the little table where Aki's coffee usually sits, wings folded in and leaning against the wall with his legs crossed, peeking over the railing. The table isn't high from the ground at all, but Angel's feet don't touch the ground.

"Someone I used to know told me devil hunters aren't long for this world anyway," Aki says. Not that he needed another dead person in his brain.

"Gimme one," Angel suddenly demands, stretching a hand out.

Aki snorts.

"I just wanna see if it's even worth it," he says with a pout. "I can't believe you'd laugh at a devil. Foolish human."

He rolls his eyes at Angel's teasing and picks up the pack and lighter from the armrest. He takes a cigarette out of the pack, but Angel waves his hand away.

"Don't hand it to me, I'll do it. I think I've seen it enough times to try," Angel says, taking the pack from the armrest to get his own cigarette. And he's right, he lights it correctly without any issue, but as soon as he breathes in the smoke, he starts coughing.

He definitely inhaled way more smoke than someone who has never smoked a cigarette should ever inhale, because it turns into a coughing fit that has him doubled over. Aki found it amusing for the first few seconds but he's concerned now, and without even thinking, he leans forward and reaches out to rub a hand underneath his wing on his back.

Angel flinches hard at the touch, almost enough to send him flying off the table, but he doesn't reprimand Aki like he expects him to. Probably because he's still coughing. It dies down much quicker after that.

Angel looks over at him just for a few seconds before shrinking back his shoulder, signaling for Aki to take his hand back. It's not a glare, there's a hint of sadness there.

"I think you breathed too much of it in," Aki says, trying to veer off the topic.

"Would've been nice to know," Angel grumbles. "Take this stupid thing."

He sets the cigarette down on the armrest for Aki to pick up, and Aki happily smokes it for him.

"It's kind of funny," Aki says after he puffs out more smoke. "I'd think a devil would be immune to something like that."

"I'm not really immune to much," Angel mumbles. "I wish I was immune to this stupid weather. I hate the cold."

"I don't like it either," Aki agrees.

They're quiet for a while after that. Angel's eyes are off in that place again from earlier, but Aki doesn't pry, because he seems content enough. Aki just smokes his cigarette and tries his best not to blow any smoke in Angel's face.

"Did she take Denji out?" Aki asks him after a little while.

"Yeah. Looked like he was shivering," Angel tells him, his eyes drifting down to his shoes. "He kind of looked more…alert, though. And she didn’t have to drag him back. So don't worry so much about him."

He chides him a little with that last line, and understandably so. Aki realizes Angel probably thinks he's being ridiculous, so he decides to give him some sort of explanation, at the very least. “My little brother was sick a lot when we were kids. I think this is just…getting to my head.”

There's a pause. Angel doesn't lift his head. “I didn’t know you had a brother.”

“He was killed with the rest of my family.”

Angel sighs, like he realizes it's an answer he should have expected.

“By the gun devil?” he almost whispers.

Aki just nods. 

"That's why you're in Public Safety," Angel realizes out loud. "Revenge."

"Didn't know I was that easy to read," Aki says with a sigh.

“I think I forget too often how fragile human life is. Ironically,” Angel mumbles. “I’m sorry.”

Aki didn't think he'd ever hear Angel apologize to anyone, let alone him. He doesn't think Angel owes him any kind of apology, really, but for some reason, it makes him feel a little better. He doesn’t feel so guilty and ashamed of his own thoughts.

"It's fine. I don't blame you," Aki says.

"I remember that day. What…three, four years, now?" Angel asks, and Aki thinks he's joking for a moment.

"Thirteen."

"Really?" he groans and throws his head against the wall. "My memory sucks."

He's quiet for a moment and there's a look on his face that tells Aki he's trying really hard to remember. Aki realizes time must be something that slips through the cracks for him, someone who has existed for thousands of years. He can't blame him for thinking the Gun Devil's appearance was more recent.

"I think every human in my unit was killed. Just the fiends were left. And Spider," Angel remembers out loud. "Glad it didn't kill you. I wonder whose balcony I'd be sitting on if you were dead."

He says that so nonchalantly. Trying to lighten the mood without realizing it. Aki appreciates it. He tries not to linger on thoughts of his family for too long.

Angel stands up to look over the balcony and peer over the edge, and Aki joins him. It's unusually quiet tonight. The sudden weather shift probably has most people curled up inside, but there they are, willingly on the balcony.

Aki turns his head to look at Angel, to read his face again, and this time Angel looks right back at him. He doesn't say anything and he doesn't make a face, he just stares back. Angel does this sometimes, where he's close to his face like this, with a look in his eyes Aki can't quite describe, usually.

Today, it looks almost like longing.

He backs up and says a word that almost just sounds like an exhale, but Aki heard it - cruel , he said.

Aki's heart sinks.

Angel heads back for the sliding glass door at the other end with every intention of going back inside. Aki follows him, and he almost grabs his shoulder, but at risk of scaring the latter again, he opts for words.

"Wait, don't go back in yet," Aki tells him.

Angel turns around, and Aki takes a step too close to him, but Angel doesn't back up.

Aki takes a good moment to look at him. He doesn't know why his heart's beating so fast. What is he even doing? What does he want to do? He doesn't have any idea. It's like his body is working ahead of his brain and he's really not a big fan of that.

Angel seems to be in the same boat. He's not at all an indecisive person. If he wanted to turn around and leave, he would, but he stays with his eyes peered up at Aki, breaths uneven.

He finds himself leaning down closer to Angel's face, close enough for his hair to lay against his forehead, and Angel doesn't back up. He's holding his breath, Aki can only hear his own.

What if he kissed him?

He's going to die soon anyway, why not shave off a few more months? Aki doesn't know Angel's thoughts, but he'd be stupid to think the latter didn't care about him. Aki can't imagine how he feels. He can't touch anyone, it drives people away.

Yet, here's Aki.

"Stop it," Angel suddenly says, backing up as far into the glass door as he can, and turning his head to the side. "Stop. I'm less worth it than a cigarette."

Why does that sting so bad?

"You're not."

Angel's breath shakes like he's angry, but Aki can't see his face enough to tell. "Don't be stupid. You're telling me, you'd let yourself die on your own damn balcony just to -"

Angel can't say it out loud, and Aki doesn't think he'd be able to either.

He's right. He's trying to rationalize it in his mind. He'd trade cigarettes for Angel. He'd trade a lot of things in his life for him, embarrassing enough as that is. He doesn't have any idea why he's only realizing that now. Kissing Angel just for a few seconds surely wouldn't kill him, would it? But even if it didn't, would it be worth it, in the end?

He wants it to be. He'd find a way to make it worth it.

But clearly, Angel cares too much about him to let him give in to that, and he's already disappeared back into Aki's apartment. Angel really did sound upset just then, and the guilt starts to creep its way back into Aki’s heart.

Aki stands there for a few seconds to let the embarrassment sink in before he follows Angel inside, but he's realizing he's far too sad to be embarrassed. He's sad for Angel. Sad doesn't feel right, but he doesn't know how else to describe it.

He slides open the glass door and wills himself inside.

"Denji's in here," Angel tells him, truly acting as if nothing at all happened, gesturing towards the bathroom door once Aki closes the balcony door behind him.

"Power too?" Aki asks, heading down the little hallway to the bathroom door where Angel stands.

"No, she's asleep," Angel says, pointing towards the bedroom door with his head.

Aki pushes the door open. It looks like it's either been opened by Angel or left open by Denji. He's not really sure what to expect. He's probably gotten sick again.

He finds Denji half asleep with his forehead pressed up against the toilet seat. It doesn't look like he's thrown up at all, thankfully, but apparently he was nauseous enough to drag himself all the way here without Power's help.

"Denji," Aki says with a quiet sigh, kneeling down beside him. Denji moves his head, just enough for him to dart his eyes up at Aki. "Let's get you back to bed."

Denji groans in protest, turning his head away from Aki.

"You're still nauseous?" Aki asks him. He has to assume that's what his groan meant. He wonders how long he's been here. Aki's not sure how long he was out there with Angel.

"Mhmm…"

"C'mon, get your face off the toilet seat," Aki sighs, bringing a hand under Denji's chin to encourage him to move. He's a little surprised to see him actually move. Denji opts to lean against the wall instead, and he brings his arms around his middle. He whimpers.

Denji's looking a little better. He's still clearly exhausted, the dark circles arguably look worse than before, but overall he's improved. There's some color in his face again.

"I'm gonna see if I can find anything for your stomach," Aki says, "pretty sure I've got Pepto Bismol somewhere."

Denji groans again, supposedly as some sort of response, but Aki can't decipher it this time, and he decides against trying. Aki stands up.

"Don't go anywhere, I'll be right back."

Aki disappears from the bathroom, surprised to see Angel still standing outside. For some reason, he expected Angel to be on his way out of the building by now. "Want me to grab something?"

He's surprised to hear him asking that, too. "Actually, can you get the thermometer from their room?"

Angel just nods and heads for their room once Aki splits off from him to find the Pepto Bismol. It's in the fridge, somewhere at the very back of the top shelf, but he still manages to find it. He's slightly worried about it being expired, but he's already pouring it into the cup before he can decide against it. This has to help, even if it's just a little bit.

He brings it back to the bathroom just in time for Angel to hand off the thermometer. Denji doesn't look very happy to see Angel standing in the doorway, but he's distracted by Aki waving the thermometer in his face. He groans this time to complain, but Aki sticks it into his mouth anyway.

It beeps just in time for Denji to gag, and he leans forward to dry heave a few times, but he doesn't bring anything up.

"Please don't puke on the floor," Aki asks him with a sigh, and Denji huffs, bringing his knees up to his chest and laying his head over the top of them.

"What's it say?" Angel asks, leaning against the doorframe.

"Thirty eight point eight," Aki says, a little surprised himself.

"Even? That's good. Way lower than before," Angel comments. "Guess that bath worked."

Aki nods. He feels like he can breathe a little easier. Denji's fine. He's fine enough to complain, and that's a great sign.

"Take this," Aki tells Denji, handing him the cup of Pepto Bismol that he had set aside. He seems alert enough to take it from his hand without any help, but he looks puzzled. "It's just a cup of medicine, it'll help your stomach calm down."

Aki wonders if Denji has ever had medicine before. That seems like a ridiculous thought, but he honestly can't count the number of times Denji has commented that it was his first time eating something. Medicine probably is on that list of things he hasn't tried.

He takes it, still looking a little unsure. Angel says something like I'll be right back , and disappears from the door frame, closing the door before he leaves.

"Take it like a shot. It doesn't taste too bad," Aki says. He hates it, personally, but Denji has certainly swallowed less appetizing things.

That's enough encouragement to take it, apparently, and he downs it without a problem.

"You can stay in here if you think you need to. But I'd rather you'd go back to bed," Aki tells him as he leans against the wall across from him. "It's better if you rest on a bed."

Denji doesn't say anything, and Aki decides to take that as a sign he wants to stay in here a bit longer. He wishes Denji would say something. The kid is an absolute chatterbox and hearing him radio silent is not only weird, but concerning. He's sure it's just got something to do with his energy. Maybe his throat is bothering him. It probably burns with all the vomiting he's been doing.

Aki's not sure why he's so hung up on it. He's gotten a little too used to living with the two most annoying people on earth, it seems.

"Next time you're sick while I'm not home, call me. Or have Power call me," Aki sighs. He has to add some chiding to his tone to cover up the fact that Denji really worried the crap out of him today. "So we can get you to a doctor in time."

Denji sighs right back at him and lays his forehead back on his knees.

Still, Aki expects him to speak, but he stays quiet, and after a while of silence Aki realizes he's fallen asleep. Denji's pretty good at falling asleep anywhere, in any position, so Aki should have known. He hopes it at least means he's not as nauseous anymore.

"Let's go back to bed," Aki tells him whether Denji can hear him or not. He kneels beside him to hook an arm under his shoulder to hoist him up, which seems to wake him just enough to not let Aki deadweight carry him. He appreciates that.

There's a little box right outside the door, and Aki recognizes it's the box of cooling patches. Angel must've put it there.

Aki gets him back to bed and helps lower him down carefully. He lays his head down on the pillow, and any hint that Denji may have been awake is gone now, he's really dead asleep. Aki takes the cooling patches and kneels back down to stick one to Denji's forehead, and by the time he's back, Power has already latched back onto him in her sleep.

He brushes Denji's hair out of his face and uses one of the washcloths lying around to dry off his forehead. He's still pretty warm, but of course, he's still running quite the fever. Aki presses the cooling patch to his forehead, and lets Denji's hair fall back over it. These are so much more convenient. He wonders where Angel found that box.

"You always get my hair stuck in it…"

It's Taiyo's voice again, telling him why the cooling patches aren't as convenient as they seem. Aki wants to laugh at the timing, but he can't, and before he can bother trying to stop himself, his eyes are flooded with tears.

He sits back so that he's not hovering over Denji while he's trying to keep his sobs quiet. He definitely recognizes this is an accumulation of all of his thoughts and feelings from tonight, stored in a bottle and shattered at a really inconvenient time, but that doesn't make it any easier to stop. It's overwhelming him to the point where he can't even slow himself down.

He lets himself cry for a little while. He'll often end up like this, on days where he thinks too much about his family, against his will. It doesn't feel as sorrowful right now, though.

He's spent so many years living alone. He never expected to be taking care of a sick teenager in his apartment, much less with a fiend in the same room and a devil in another. He would probably laugh in the face of anyone who told him that, and he never laughs at anything.

Denji doesn't remind him of Taiyo. They're nothing alike. That was never why it stung. Aki thinks these idiots have just wormed their way into his brain, and he doesn't have any choice but to call them family.

He lays back on the floor, the exhaustion of the day finally hitting him. The tear streaks on his cheeks start to dry, and he's asleep before he can force himself back up.

…

The phone starts ringing.

Aki immediately sits up, groaning when he feels a pinch in his neck. That's what he gets for falling asleep on the floor, but he doesn't have time to lament about that. He needs to grab that phone before it wakes someone up.

He stumbles out of the room, briefly looking back to make sure Denji and Power are still asleep, and they are. He shuts the door and barely makes it to pick up the phone before the last ring is over.

God, what time is it?

"Hayakawa?"

"I - yes, I'm Hayakawa," he mumbles. He really should be more professional. He's sure this is someone from Public Safety, but he just woke up. He can barely think. He needs some water. Coffee too, maybe.

"I'm calling from Public Safety on behalf of your division supervisor. We are searching for the Angel Devil," the man says. Isn't Makima their division supervisor? He's not really sure anymore. "One of our transporters brought it to your apartment. Were you aware of this?"

Shit, where the hell is Angel?

"He's - um, yes, I'm aware. I was helping him fill out paperwork," Aki decides, and he thinks it's a pretty good lie for a second. "I - I was hung up here."

The employee pauses, like he doesn't believe him. "I see. The Angel Devil is scheduled for meetings this morning. I'm arranging for a transporter to pick it up at six this morning."

Aki's starting to realize it looks really weird that Angel spent the night at his apartment for paperwork, but it's too late to back track now. He hopes Angel really is still hanging around here.

"Okay, he'll - he'll be ready. Thank you."

The line clicks.

He's not a huge fan of how some of these employees refer to the devils and fiends like they're objects, but he quickly realizes he used to do the same. And here he is, calling a literal devil Angel like that's his name, when everyone else calls him the Angel Devil.

He's going to forget the bit about him trying to kiss him earlier, and pretend calling him Angel is the worst he's doing.

He peers over at the clock on the wall. It's twenty minutes before six, so the transporter is probably on the way right now. Aki places the phone back where it belongs and scans over the living room, with Angel nowhere to be found. Maybe he's in Aki's room.

Aki's very careful with opening his door, but he's not sure why. If Angel happens to be asleep, he needs to wake him either way.

He definitely is.

Angel's fast asleep, curled up on his side on Aki's bed, like a cat. And speaking of cats, Meowy is laying right on top of Angel's side. She's staring right up at Aki, she's almost smiling at him. Aki doesn't know what to think of that cat. It's like she knows things he doesn't.

"Hey," Aki whispers, approaching the bed carefully, hoping he can wake Angel without scaring him. Angel doesn't stir, so Aki opts to lean over and briefly shake his shoulder.

There's a split second, right before Angel moves, where Aki thinks he spots tear tracks on his cheeks. But that can't be right. It's dark, his eyes are playing tricks on him.

Angel groans and covers his face with one of his wings, scaring Meowy back down to the floor. "Stupid cat, trying to test your nine lives? Ugh…"

"That was me, sorry," Aki says, receiving a testing meow from the cat before she trails out of the room. "Public Safety just called and said they're coming to pick you up."

"For what?" Angel complains, rubbing at his eyes as he sits up.

"You're scheduled for meetings," Aki tells him.

Angel just stares at him for a moment, and his eyes trail down to his hands. Aki was expecting way more complaints from him, but he can't read his expressions at all.

"What kind of meetings do you have to do, anyway?" Aki asks, deciding to sit beside him on the bed. Angel doesn't scoot away from him like he normally does.

"They're not meetings. They're euthanasias," Angel mumbles with a sigh, "I get to put someone down. How fun."

Aki was vaguely aware of Angel being used for this purpose, but he's never heard of it while he's known him. It was rumors from other devil hunters, and Himeno. Devil hunters who do things they aren't supposed to or know things they shouldn't know get put down, he's always known that.

"At least it's the Angel Devil. Can you imagine the Hell Devil putting people down?" Himeno used to joke with him.

"I'm sorry," Aki sighs, "if I knew that, I would've -"

"I'd rather they make me do it than Spider. She has no class," Angel jokes. His voice is wobbly, and clearly he's trying to take some tension out of the conversation, but he can't do much about it. "And she hates humans, so…"

"Oh, you don't hate humans?" Aki jokes back.

Angel groans and lays back down on the bed, facing away from Aki, folding his wing back over himself. "Alright, Public Safety's number one devil hater, what are you going to do about the devil on your bed? He's never going to move. In fact, he might spend an eternity here."

He's obviously teasing him, but Aki can't help but think this is a moment to take advantage of. He's not really thinking this through, not at all, actually. He grabs the sheet, just enough of it to pull over the bottom half of Angel's face as he grabs his shoulder and puts him on his back, and he kisses him over the sheet.

Angel's eyes are wider than Aki's ever seen them, and he almost has to break the kiss to snort at the face he's making.

But he closes his eyes after a few seconds, and Aki does too. Of course, this isn't the same. Angel won't ever be able to kiss a person without killing them, but this is the next best thing, right?

Aki pulls back, and Angel's eyes shoot back open. Aki can't entirely handle the embarrassment. He lays back on the bed, and stares up at the ceiling.

"You're…you're so…I can't believe you would…" Angel mutters to himself, almost literally at a loss for words. He presses his hands up to his face.

The doorbell rings.

Angel groans when Aki sits up. Of course, that's the worst timing imaginable, but maybe they're saved from confronting their feelings this way. He takes in a deep breath before he looks back at Angel, who's pouting at him, refusing to get off of the bed.

"I wanna stay here. Maybe I should tell them I'm sick too," he groans, but he sits up anyway, pulling himself to the edge of the bed. He seems a little annoyed with how his feet don't touch the floor, but Aki's do.

Aki's silent for longer than he needs to be. He doesn't want Angel to leave either. He feels ridiculous. He knows about his reputation at Public Safety, it's ridiculous for him to get attached to a devil, and here he is. And a devil he's not allowed to touch.

Angel stands up and stretches. The doorbell rings again and Angel groans, again.

"Hold on."

Aki takes the sheet off of the bed and throws it over him, much to the latter's very vocal dismay, and then hugs him.

He takes him deep into his grip and lays his head on top of Angel's. He always forgets how small he is. A hug like this with someone this small would probably be awkward, normally, but Aki cherishes it. He kind of needs it, as much as he doesn't want to admit it. He thinks Angel might need it too.

"You're stupid," Angel murmurs. His voice almost sounds unsteady. If Aki didn't know any better, he thinks Angel might start crying. "Humans are so stupid…"

The third ring of the doorbell tells him it's really time to let Angel go, so he does. He pulls the sheet off of him, the static making his hair cling to the sheets. Aki reaches out to fix it without thinking, but Angel backs up and fixes it himself.

"Use your brain," Angel mumbles.

He follows Angel out of the room and to the front door where Angel puts his shoes back on with a heavy sigh, clearly dreading where he has to go. Aki will have an excuse for next time, he tells himself, but he knows there's not much he can do.

"Thank you. For your help," Aki says before Angel turns the doorknob. He can't say what he really means, the employee is right on the other side and will certainly hear them.

Angel's eyes look sad, for the few seconds he holds his gaze with Aki. He doesn't say anything, but Aki thinks he doesn't need to. He knows. Angel's pain seeps through the cracks, sometimes, just enough for Aki to see.

And with that, he's gone.

Aki stands there for a few seconds like an idiot. His cheeks feel hot. He can't believe he did any of that. He rubs at his eyes and leans against the wall and tries to push it to the back of his mind, and when he lowers his hands back down, Power is peeking at him from the doorway.

"Humans are so confusing," she comments with a suspicious look on her face.

"Yeah?" Aki starts, a little wobbly.

"You told me you had no intentions of being friendly with a devil. And now you are kissing and hugging them? A devil who will shorten your lifespan?" Power mumbles.

Aki's face must be as red as Power's horns right now. Was she watching them? He had no idea he didn't shut the door. He's mortified.

"He…I didn't…well, I…"

It's Aki who's at a loss for words now.

Both of their heads snap into the direction of the room Power is peeking out of when they hear Denji's voice. It hardly sounds like him at all, but there's no one else it could be. He says "Powy?" Aki's pretty sure, and Power scrambles to get to his side as soon as he calls her name.

Aki follows soon after, his heartbeat speeding up its pace just the slightest bit, but Denji doesn't look like he's doing too terribly, right now.

Power leans over his face, looking incredibly concerned herself, carefully brushing Denji's hair from his eyes. He doesn't seem to mind it too much. He holds his eye contact with her, almost like he's trying to read her thoughts, before his gaze drifts over to Aki once he kneels down on his other side.

Power busies herself with taking off the cooling patch on his forehead, and replacing it with a new one.

"How're you doing?" Aki asks him.

"Feel like crap," Denji breathes out. His voice is so hoarse and raspy. He really sounds like he's sick, but Aki's beyond relieved to hear him talking again.

"Think you can drink some water?" Aki asks him. He thinks that might help out his throat a little bit, as long as he can stomach the water.

"Mhm," Denji hums. He tries to sit himself up, but Power has to help him. He's quite clearly exhausted, but Aki's glad that he's willing to drink something. He takes the half-full glass that's been set off to the side up to Denji's lips, but the latter insists on drinking without any help.

To Aki's surprise, he drinks all of it. He was only expecting him to take a few sips, but that seems to be enough for him. He doesn't ask for any more.

"How's your stomach?" Aki asks him. He really hopes that's a good sign.

"Mmm…'s better," Denji decides, laying a hand over it like he's trying to gauge the answer. He lays himself back down and Power quickly follows, sneaking an arm under his neck and the other over his head, almost like he's a cat. She's been very protective of him recently. Aki is a little shocked that Denji isn't protesting this at all.

Aki wanted to get another read of his temperature, but he's not too concerned with breaking them up for that right now. He's almost certain it's gotten lower, if Denji feels good enough to speak.

Aki is absolutely exhausted, but by now, it's a half hour until seven, and he decides to start getting the day going.

He closes the door to their room to let them sleep, even though he's sure Denji will follow him out at some point, even if he's not well, because he always does.

He decides to get the laundry running first, and he's quite pleased to find that he hasn't forgotten anything in the dryer despite how hectic things have been. He throws a new load in the washer and starts it after dipping the rest into the dryer, hoping to call this a sign that things are going uphill, now.

He cleans up the kitchen relatively quickly, realizing Angel had done most of the work for him, and he suddenly remembers the burn on his hand. He unwraps it. It doesn't look nearly as angry red as it did before, but it's certainly blistering. He's not sure if he should cover it again, but he thinks it's probably better safe than sorry, so he heads back into the bathroom for the first aid kit to wrap up his hand with a fresh bandage.

He's a little startled to find Denji standing at the door when he opens it again, still looking half asleep. Aki's worried he's feeling sick again, and apparently that shows on his face.

"I jus' gotta pee," Denji mumbles. 

Aki nods, relieved to hear that answer, and clears the way for him.

"Your hand okay?" Denji asks through the door once it's closed, as unceremonious as it is for someone to talk while they're going to the bathroom, but Aki's unfazed.

"It's fine. I burned it earlier," Aki tells him, inspecting the wrap in the hallway light. It was technically yesterday, wasn't it?

"Did'ja put somethin' on it?" Denji asks him after a small pause.

"I did. Vaseline," Aki assures him. He has a vague memory of having to do this before, and he's surprised Denji picked up on it and remembered. He's even more surprised that Denji's concerned with his burn at all. "You want any breakfast?"

"Mmm…maybe later," Denji answers. He thinks that's a good sign.

Aki heads over to the kitchen to get his coffee started, fully expecting Denji to disappear right back into his room, but he sneaks into the living room to follow the cat, and he sits down with her once he’s caught her. He's not sure what it is about Denji and that cat, but sometimes he seeks her out like a little kid. Denji really doesn't strike Aki as a cat person at all.

He's a little concerned with the way Denji is just staring off into nothing like that, petting the cat who is very much enjoying his company in his lap.

"Water?" Aki asks, handing him a glass as he joins him in the living room. It seems to snap Denji out of whatever thoughts he's having.

"Oh, thanks," he murmurs. He takes a few sips of it.

"You need to drink a lot of water today," Aki tells him.

"I know. 'M already dizzy," he mumbles. He's very susceptible to that, Aki's well aware, but he's glad Denji's just as aware.

"You're dehydrated," Aki reminds him, and Denji nods. He takes a few more sips of the water, and sets it back down on the table. Aki leans down to press the back of his hand to Denji's cheek. Denji takes a deep breath and closes his eyes for a second as Aki tries to gauge if his fever's any better, and it honestly feels much better than the last time he felt his skin. It's still warm, but Aki wouldn't call it hot anymore.

Aki heads back to the kitchen to find a straw and maybe make it a little more accessible to drink, and to his displeasure, the phone starts to ring.

He picks it up as soon as he hears the first ring. He'd really prefer if Power slept in, because Denji certainly won't.

“Aki, may I ask where you and the rest of your trio are this morning?”

Makima. Aki's stomach drops. He's completely forgotten they had a scheduled meeting and patrol this morning, right at seven. It's only a few minutes past that time now, but Makima knows that Aki is never late for anything.

“I’m sorry, miss Makima. There’s just - a situation," he's a little flustered, not exactly sure how to explain what's happened when he's been so caught off guard.

“Care to elaborate?” she asks. Aki doesn't have any idea what she's thinking or feeling about this.

“Denji hasn't been well. Stomach flu, I think," Aki says. That's his best guess, anyway.

“I see. And Power?” she asks.

“She’s - she’s helping me," Aki tells her, and it's the honest truth, so why does he feel guilty?

"Is she? Well, that's good," she pauses just long enough that it makes Aki uncomfortable. "Do you need me to call a doctor over for Denji?"

"I think he's okay now. He just needs to rest today," Aki tells her. He does believe that, but he trusts he can call Makima again if that changes.

"Alright, well, let me know if there's anything I can do," Makima says. There's a pause again, she doesn't hang up. "Oh, and, Aki?"

"Yes ma'am," he asks. He didn't realize he was holding his breath.

"I'd appreciate if you not hold up Angel when he's scheduled at Public Safety for work. He's a very busy devil," Makima says sweetly, but there's something that scares Aki into wondering if she knows something, just based on her tone. It makes Aki's stomach drop.

"Yes - I apologize. It won't happen again," Aki says without even really thinking, as if she coaxed the answer out of him. He didn't mean for that to happen, really, but did she somehow know he wanted to prevent Angel from having to leave for next time?

"Okay, that's good, Aki. Thank you for looking after Denji. Enjoy your morning," Makima tells him.

"Yes ma'am. Y-you too."

The line clicks.

Aki has a bad habit of holding his breath when he's on the phone with her, so he takes a second to catch it after he hangs the phone back up on the wall. He doesn't know why he's so nervous. Makima is incredibly kind and understanding, Aki surely wouldn't be in trouble for any of this.

"Is miss Makima mad at me?" Aki hears Denji ask from the living room, and he rounds the corner to answer him.

"No, she isn't. That last bit was unrelated," Aki tells him, realizing that Denji probably tuned in to that entire conversation after he heard Makima's name, and probably assumed her final comment was about him.

"She should come take care'a me," Denji decides. Meowy worms her way out of Denji's lap, and he pouts.

"She should. I've had enough of you," Aki teases as he trails back into the living room to open the blinds.

"What's that bruise on your eye from?" Denji asks him when he turns around again. He squints at him, trying to see around the newfound light in the space.

"Bruise…?" Aki asks, not sure what he's talking about. He reaches a hand up to his eye and presses up to the brow bone, and it's definitely sore. What was that from, again?

That's when Denji was thrashing around from a nightmare, Aki realizes, hiding eye contact with the latter without meaning to. Denji just stares back. It's hard to imagine him in that state again when he looks perfectly fine right now, looking up at him like he's been fine the entire time.

He wonders if Denji suddenly remembers too, because he sighs and leans back on his hands, breaking their eye contact.

"Sorry," he mumbles to himself.

"For what?" Aki asks him. He sits across from him at the table so he's not looming over him the entire time. He's not sure if he's referring to the bruise or not, so he decides to ask.

Denji looks at him like he's just cracked an egg with his head.

"Use your words," he teases. Denji's usually not very good at expressing his feelings.

"This whole thing?" he suggests, sitting back up and gesturing with his hands before he sets them back down in his lap. He looks frustrated, like he's wishing for Aki to just read his mind and be done with it.

"You're apologizing for being sick? That's not your fault," Aki tells him. He's nonchalant about it, but Denji seems to be taking it rather seriously.

"I'm sayin' sorry cause you had ta' take care of me," he mumbles, his eyes shifting away from Aki again. "Shoulda' done it myself."

"I didn't mind. It's not like you were in any condition to take care of yourself,” Aki says it like it’s obvious. Or at least, he thinks it is. He would never dream of leaving Denji to fend for himself when he was as ill as he was last night. It’s a ridiculous notion. He doesn’t understand why Denji feels any sort of guilt about it.

"I know, but…I dunno," he sighs. He is frustrated, Aki’s sure of it. It looks like he wants to say something else, but he’s not quite sure how to word it. "Sorry if I, like…made you cry, man."

Aki's heart sinks.

"It wasn't you," he tells him, not wanting to give Denji any room to think that was his fault, even if he's still processing the fact that Denji heard him in the first place. Aki thought he was being pretty quiet, and now, he feels guilty. “I’ve been…I’ve just been out of sorts recently. None of that is your fault.”

The look that Denji gives him is one that says he doesn’t believe him, at least not entirely, but he seems willing to let it go. His eyes drift back down to his hands. He seems pretty mellow, right now, and it’s one of the only things that’s telling Aki he’s still not feeling well. He doubts Denji would be having any thoughts like that if he was really back to his normal self. He’s typically pretty rational.

“And I mean what I said, earlier. Call me if you don’t feel well. I’ll come home,” Aki tells him, trying to steer the conversation away from something that’s clearly made Denji upset.

"No one's ever done that for me," he mumbles, not entirely responding to Aki’s request. He sounds so distant. Clearly his mind is somewhere else, he doesn't have nearly as clear a head as Aki was hoping.

His shoulders sink. Aki doesn't know where Denji came from. He doesn't know what his home life was like, or even what part of Japan he's from - Denji doesn't talk about that stuff at all, but he's heard bits and pieces from Power. They spend far more time together than he does with them, so it makes sense.

Power has joked about Denji living in a shack for his whole life, and while he's not very inclined to believe her, maybe it's because he doesn't want to accept that as the truth. He can assume Denji's parents aren't around either, he's only sixteen and Aki has never heard a word about them.

Then it makes perfect sense for him to think this way. He's always had to look after himself. He’s probably never had someone take care of him, let alone take him to a doctor.

"I'd do it for you any time," Aki assures him. He really doesn't think it's that big of a deal himself, but clearly it is to Denji. "I wouldn’t leave you stranded. I hope you’d do the same for me, anyway.”

The look Denji gives him hurts. He doesn't say anything. His eyes are empty, though. He's stuck somewhere.

"Now you're gettin’ sappy for no reason…" Denji groans, dramatically laying back against the floor.

"You started it. Don't pin it on me," Aki chides with a scoff. He’s a little embarrassed about getting sappy like that, but he meant what he said. He hopes Denji takes it to heart, even if he’s still not himself yet. "You should really get some more rest, though. You don’t need to be up just because I am.”

“Mmm…yeah, guess I’m pretty tired,” Denji murmurs as he sits up again, and Aki stands up to help him off of the floor.

He’s still not very stable on his feet. He tries to take a few steps on his own but ends up using the wall for support. Aki takes his arm and helps him back to his room with a few groans of protest from Denji, who clearly wants to do things himself, but Aki doesn’t see any sense in letting Denji struggle if he doesn’t have to.

Denji lays back down on the bed with a little groan, laying a hand over his stomach. Power’s still fast asleep, not aware of a thing happening around her. Her cat has curled up beside her.

"What was that stuff you gave me earlier? It was pink," Denji asks. He’s starting to sound pretty sleepy.

"The Pepto bismol?" Aki asks. "Never had it before?"

"Nuh-uh. Couldn't afford nothin' fancy like that," Denji says a little too casually. He seems to be referring to medicine in general, not the Pepto Bismol specifically. "Had to tough it out and whatever."

Aki really wishes they had met sooner. He can’t imagine having to tough out an illness of any kind. He's happy to go to the doctor at the first sign of something.

"Did you want more? Did it help?"

Denji nods. "Uh-huh, a ton. You have more?"

"I do. I'll be right back,” Aki says. He points to the thermometer laying about a foot from his head. “Take your temperature.”

Aki gets another cup of the Pepto Bismol together for him. He’s not really sure how far apart the doses need to be taken, but if his stomach is bothering him again, and it helped last time, he’s going to give it to him.

When he returns, Power is sitting up next to Denji, patting his head with a pout. Denji still has the thermometer in his mouth, and he takes it out when Aki comes back to allow him to read it. Thirty-seven point eight, now. He sighs in relief. That’s almost back to normal. “That’s good,”

He trades Denji the thermometer for the cup of medicine, which has now caught the attention of Power, who really does not look like she just woke up a second ago.

"What is that?" Power asks.

Denji appears to attempt to answer her question by reading the printed name on the label of the cup, but his shoulders sink and he looks to Aki for help.

"Pepto Bismol," Aki tells her. "It's for Denji's stomachache."

"Are you tricking me? It looks tasty," she says, trying to swipe it away from Denji, who swiftly evades her attack, somehow without spilling a drop of it.

Aki really isn't in the mood to explain why she shouldn't drink Pepto Bismol for no reason, but Denji is quick to his rescue.

"You won't like it. Tastes like veggies," Denji answers before downing the cup like it's a shot glass. Aki shudders. He's impressed.

Power narrows her eyes. "You're tricking me."

"Am not. They gotta make it look good by makin’ it pink so idiots like you will drink it," Denji teases. He's very convincing, but Power is certainly easily fooled. Aki sighs through his nose. He feels good enough to tease Power. That’s a good sign.

"I am no idiot! I knew this all along. I was testing you!" Power claims.

"Sweet. Did I pass?"

Power crosses her arms over her chest and nods. "You indeed passed."

Denji lays back down. It already looks like he’s only seconds away from falling asleep when his head hits the pillow again, and Aki wouldn’t put it past him. Power curls up beside him without a second thought.

"Do you feel better Denji? A lot better?" Power asks him, nuzzling her head into his arm like a cat.

"Uh-huh," he murmurs, "'m tired, though. And sore."

"He needs to rest today. So don’t keep him up,” Aki tells her directly.

“I will do no such thing…I will help Denji…” she claims with a pout, seemingly offended to be charged with such an accusation. She sneaks a hand under his shirt from what Aki can tell over the sheets. Denji is glaring at her, incredibly suspicious, and apparently with good reason. She presses into his abdomen a little too hard in some attempt to soothe his stomach.

"You're not helping, Powy, that hurts ," Denji groans, turning on his side so he's facing away from her.

Power sits up, peering over to make sure she hasn’t truly hurt him before she looks back at Aki. Aki sighs. "You have to be more gentle."

"Yeah, gentle. I told you I'm sore, remember?" Denji mumbles, refusing to turn around.

“I’m sorry, Denji, I can be more gentle…” she mumbles as she lays herself over him so that Denji can see her face. She really doesn’t have a clue what personal space is.

“It’s okay, Power, you don’t have to do that,” he assures her with a half-annoyed sigh. “The medicine’ll help.”

"I can get you a warming pack for the soreness. Since your fever's down,” Aki tells him. Denji looks over and nods in approval.

Aki actually knows where this is. It’s in one of the top drawers in the kitchen, Aki has to use it pretty often for injuries. It’s pretty small, not much bigger than an ice pack, but it’ll do the trick, he thinks. He fills it with water and sticks it in the microwave for a minute or two, and heads back for their room. He’s starting to get a little light-headed, he realizes as he turns the corner. Maybe he should get some rest, too.

He hands it to Denji and the latter slides it under his shirt, relaxing for a few seconds after he lays it on his stomach. "This feels nice," Denji says quietly.

“Let me know if you need me to warm it up again. But it lasts a good hour, I think,” Aki tells him, walking back towards the doorway.

He goes to turn off the lights, but he stops for a second when he hears shifting behind him. Power is curled up beside Denji like a cat, which isn't an unusual sight at all, but it's what Denji's doing that's different. He's curled against her, too, almost like he's seeking comfort without realizing it. Aki’s glad.

"You comin'?" Denji asks quietly, just before Aki would decide to step out of the room. "You look tired as shit."

Aki turns around. He certainly agrees. He feels tired as shit. “You want me in here?”

“Yeah. C’mon,” he says, gesturing to him to come over with his head, lifting up the blanket for Aki to slide under, and for some reason, Aki can’t think of any reason to refuse. It’s probably a good idea for him to be around, just in case, so Aki lays down on his back, and finally lets himself relax.

Aki forgot about the lights he hung up in here a few weeks ago. Both Power and Denji requested some sort of light in the room that they could keep on at night, something that wasn’t as bright as the lamp or the headlight, and this is what Aki ended up finding for them. They’re called fairy lights, he thinks. They’re just little dots strung along the ceiling, with no good rhyme or reason to the pattern.

Denji turns on his back and peers over at Aki, like he’s curious about what he’s thinking. He joins him in looking up at the ceiling.

“I didn’t do a very good job at hanging those up, did I,” Aki comments, with a dry huff of a laugh.

"I like it," Denji says quietly. He sounds like he'll fall asleep any second. "Looks like stars if I squint…"

Aki squints to prove Denji’s comment, and he’s right. It kind of does. Aki hasn’t seen the night sky in a long time, but he remembers watching the stars with his little brother. The sky out in the country was always so clear, they could see stars in every direction.

“The city’s cool and all, but…nothing beats the stars you can see out in the country…” Denji says. He’s a pretty big fan of the city and all it has to offer, so it’s rare to hear him reminisce about something like this. Aki has to agree.

"Good night," Aki says through a yawn, well aware it’s early morning.

"Night," Denji murmurs, sounding half asleep. "Thanks, Aki..."

Aki thinks Denji falls asleep almost right away based on his snoring, but he finds himself up for a few more minutes, unable to will himself to close his eyes.

Why does he feel like he wants to cry?