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Morning light shines through a coffee shop window on the main street,
softening the harsh glow of Angel Devil’s halo and illuminating the dark coffee in Aki’s petite mug.
After Aki takes a sip of hot Americano, he asks Angel Devil if he’s ready to go on patrol. Angel Devil briefly stares at him, carefully thinking it over.
“I would rather die,” he says finally.
“Fine,” Aki suggests, throwing his hands up, “what would you rather do than die?”
Another blank stare from Angel Devil.
“I guess I would rather have an ice cream.”
Aki shrugs, “Okay, then let’s get ice cream. After that we can go on patrol. It’s really important that we hunt devils today.”
Angel Devil takes another bite of his parfait, letting the soft cream melt on his tongue before he responds.
“Is it?” he asks.
Angel Devil almost forgets not to smile when he sees Aki’s hand tremble tightly around the handle of his coffee cup. Aki is cute and, Angel Devil notes, fun to tease. How far would Aki let him go before he realizes he’s just another devil, toying with him?
Angel Devil rakes his eyes over Aki’s toned posture, the crisp fabric of his dress shirt flush against his neck, and meets Aki’s ice blue eyes, his most striking feature, made even lovelier by the hot blush blooming across his cheeks.
Angel Devil takes the last bite of his parfait, savoring the tangy taste. He would let me take it pretty far, probably.
“What are you smiling about?” Aki asks as he stands, clearing his throat, “Ice cream?”
Angel Devil flutters to his feet. “Yeah,” he lies, “I want soft serve.”
“Okay,” Aki replies, “let’s go to WacD’s.”
When they get to WacDonald’s, there’s a crowd of tourists.
“There are more people here than I thought,” Aki remarks.
Murmurs of “woah” and “cool” waft through the area. Angel Devil tries to shrink himself, pushing his wings farther behind him. It doesn’t matter. Humans always gawk at him. He is just a symbol to them.
“Man,” Angel Devil sighs, glancing downward, “what a drag.”
Aki places a hand on Angel Devil’s chest, gently pressing him back towards the front door. “You just wait outside,” he commands.
Maybe it’s the heat of Aki’s palm through his uniform or the fact that his voice is so kind, Angel Devil doesn’t mind listening to him.
“Okay,” he replies, backing out of the restaurant.
Aki can’t help but smirk as he waits in line. Since when were devils this obedient?
“Next!” booms the cashier.
Aki walks up towards the counter, his steps a little peppier than usual.
“One ice cream and one unsweet tea please.”
The tea sloshes in its plastic cup as Aki carefully balances it in the crook of his elbow. Holding the ice cream in one hand, he opens the door. He doesn’t know what he expected, but Angel Devil is gone.
Aki shakes his head. Then, he notices a few feathers spread along the pavement. They look so soft and light, they’ve got to be from Angel Devil’s wings. Since the feathers are not technically on him, it should be fine if he picks one up right? That wouldn’t be the same as touching him?
Carefully balancing his tea, Aki bends down to take one. Before he can reach it, Angel Devil floats down beside him.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he says, “My skin is poisonous to humans.”
Aki already knew that, of course.
“Even when it’s detached?” he grumbles, handing the ice cream to Angel Devil.
“Yeah, but,” Angel Devil accepts the ice cream, taking a lick, “if you want to touch me so bad, you can wear gloves.”
Aki accidentally spills the tea when he stands.
“I don’t!” Aki exclaims, his face and neck redder than Angel Devil has seen them. “I don’t want to touch you!”
“Oh, umm,” Angel Devil looks around, anywhere but at Aki, “I guess you won’t need these gloves I just got.”
Angel Devil squirms, trying to hide the tears welling in his eyes, “I’ll um, just return them then.”
Angel Devil turns on his heels, but Aki grabs his shoulder before he can take off.
“Wait,” he bites, “give them to me.”
Angel Devil feels stares all around them.
“Let’s go to the alleyway,” he suggests, “I’ll give them to you there.”
The quality of the gloves surprises Aki. They’re black leather, stiff yet breathable. He pulls them over his hands, and they slide perfectly into place. Angel Devil thinks that they suit Aki really well. Aki approaches Angel Devil until he’s backed against the wall. He hits one hand against the concrete as he leans in, looming over Angel Devil.
“So I can touch you wherever?” he breathes.
Angel Devil’s eyes brighten as he nods. Aki is staring at him so intensely, his gaze flitting all over Angel Devil’s body.
“Yes,” Angel Devil forces himself to say aloud, “anywhere.”
Aki begins to gently rub Angel Devil’s feathers. “They really are soft,” he observes, “how are they so strong?”
“I’m soft,” Angel Devil says as he grabs Aki’s wrist, “I’m strong.”
Angel Devil glides Aki’s hand to his cheek so he can nuzzle into it.
“Mmm.”
Aki tries to remember why he’s doing this, but it’s like his brain is broken.
“That’s enough,” Aki says as he pulls away, removing the gloves. “Let’s go on patrol.”
Angel Devil deflates, and he drops his ice cream.
After a moment of silence, Aki offers a small comfort.
“I’ll get you more ice cream at the park,” he says, “it’s on our route.”
Angel Devil peers up at Aki’s serious face.
“Okay,” he agrees. It’s not like he would ever say no to ice cream.
…
The ice cream vendor at the park is having a special today, so it’s cheaper to get a cup than a cone. The difference is about 100 yen. At least, that’s what it says on the sign.
Aki points at the sign, then asks Angel Devil what flavor he wants. Angel Devil looks at the board, then back at Aki, debating whether to say anything.
“Caramel vanilla,” he replies.
Aki orders a caramel vanilla ice cream for Angel Devil, and the food truck vendor swirls the cold cream into a cup.
“Will that be all for you?” he asks.
Aki looks down at Angel Devil, who offers nothing.
“Yeah,” Aki replies, handing some change over to the vendor.
Aki motions to give the ice cream to Angel Devil, but he won’t accept it.
“Hmm,” he says instead, glancing up at Aki with his hands clasped behind his back.
“You know,” he continues slowly, eyeing the cool cream as it starts to drip down into the paper, “I don’t really like ice cream that’s in a cup.”
When he looks up, he wants to feel the harsh sting of Aki’s hand across his face. Instead, Aki orders another ice cream, in a cone this time. The vendor chuckles and says this one is on the house.
When Aki hands the ice cream to Angel Devil, the disappointed look on Angel Devil’s face infuriates him. What, did he not want a cone after all?
He starts to reach for a cigarette, but is interrupted when his ankles get wrapped in a tangle of vines, and his wrists tied up soon after that. A pair of bright, furled leaves cover his eyes. The rope-like tendrils tighten and crawl up his skin.
Angel Devil flaps his heavy wings, floating above Aki as he follows the trail of the vines, noticing how they curl around Aki’s chest, the tender length of his waist, and his thick thighs. Against his will, he feels the crotch of his pants getting tight. He stares, but doesn’t make a move. The vines are coming from what looks like an orange sphere that’s flattened at the top, a pumpkin. Angel Devil sighs as he floats back down towards the park bench. Aki can handle it.
Aki breaks from the restraints on his wrists, unsheathes the katana from his back, and slices himself free. Just as he locates the source of the vines, he sees a vision of the future. In the vision, Angel Devil rests at the park bench and asks if they can take a break. Aki rolls his eyes. That is so not what he needs to see right now.
He slices the Pumpkin Devil in half, gracefully killing it in one swift motion. Then, he approaches Angel Devil who, sure enough, is sitting at the park bench, just like in his vision.
“Devil hunting tired me out,” Angel Devil comments, “can we take a break?”
“You didn’t do anything though?” Aki scoffs.
Angel Devil stares up at him.
“Was there something I needed to do?”
A pause. Angel Devil did make his katana after all.
“Fine,” Aki responds, “ten minutes.”
After sitting for much longer than the ten minutes Aki allotted him, Angel Devil orders another ice cream cone. He savors the sweet and sticky caramel as it coats his tongue. That’s enough work for now, he thinks to himself. That’s enough work forever.
...
Time passes, and the two grow closer as they learn to work with each other. Aki drops the Devil part from Angel Devil’s name, and Angel Devil can’t understand why it’s affecting him so much. It’s not like he’s never been called Angel before, it’s just that it sounds so clear and pleasant when it’s Aki who says it. The memory of Aki holding him tightly when they fought Bomb Devil and Typhoon Devil is crisp in his mind.
“If you want to die,” Aki had said, “then go some place far away from me to do it please. I’ve had enough of watching people die in front of my eyes.”
That was the first time Angel Devil realized that Aki saw him as a person and not just some devil or strange higher power. In Angel Devil’s experience, humans weren’t usually as empathetic as Aki.
With Aki as his partner, the dreadful days that Angel Devil has come to expect from working in Public Safety start to feel just a bit bearable. Maybe he was wrong about life in the city, about humans, about himself. Maybe he’s more angel than devil after all.
Angel Devil rolls over in his cot, and he’s surprised to see Aki there, lying next to him with his silky black hair out of its usual updo, his lean figure clad in an oversized t-shirt and delicate, cloth pants.
“Angel,” he whispers in that clear, gentle voice as he caresses Angel Devil’s cheek, “isn’t there someone you’re forgetting?”
Aki’s eyes and mouth ooze into a pool of darkness, morphing into the shape of a woman with short hair and dark features. Angel Devil doesn’t recognize her, but the pang in his chest at the sight of her feels so familiar. He wakes in a panic, the cold sweat on his bare arms and stomach sticking to his sheets. He buries his face in his hands. Another dream about her, he thinks to himself. She must be another one of my victims.
Before he realizes what he’s doing, he finds himself dressed in Public Safety black, staring down the door to Aki’s apartment. Shortly after he rings the bell, Aki opens the door. He seems a bit disheveled with his hair down, dressed in a long-sleeve t-shirt and gray sweats. He leans against the doorframe and crosses his arms.
“What are you doing here, Angel?” Aki inquires in that stupid, sexy voice.
Angel Devil doesn’t say anything, so Aki continues.
“We have today off since Power and Denji are on a mission, remember?”
The color drains from Aki’s face.
“Did something happen to them?!” he asks worriedly, taking a step back towards the entryway.
Angel Devil holds a hand out, “No, no!” he replies, his cheeks turning a bright pink.
Angel Devil squirms, twirling a piece of his coppery hair with his index finger, his eyes darting from right to left. Why did I come here again?
Aki clenches his jaw, pissed that Angel Devil is, once again, wasting his time.
“Spit. It. Out,” he demands.
“Do you still have the gloves I gave you?” Angel Devil replies.
Aki raises his eyebrows, “I do but … it’s tacky to ask for a gift back don’t you think?”
“No!” Angel Devil throws his hands up, “I don’t want them back, that’s not what I’m asking.”
“Uh-huh,” Aki taps his foot, “and what are you asking?”
Angel Devil swallows.
“Can I come inside?”
Aki sticks his tongue in his cheek, mulling it over. The bags under Angel Devil’s eyes are darker than usual, and it’s clear he put on his uniform in a rush since the tie is loose and the shirt buttons are off. It’s not like Power and Denji are here, and it’s weird for Angel to be so worked up.
“Sure,” Aki replies, taking a step back, “I’ll make you some tea.”
Aki sets a couple of mugs on the kitchen table, gesturing for Angel Devil to take a seat. He takes out some roasted green tea from the cupboard, placing a teabag in each mug, and puts the kettle on the stove. Once the kettle beeps, he pours hot water into each of their mugs, enjoying the pleasant aroma as it escapes from the steam.
“So,” he says, after finally taking a seat, “what is it?”
Angel Devil tries to drink too fast and burns his tongue, some tea spilling onto his uniform.
“Ouch, hot!” he cries.
The ghost of a smile graces Aki’s lips.
“You’re hopeless,” he observes, “let me get the gloves.”
Angel Devil sits there in silence for a minute, his heart pounding so hard it feels like it’s going to leap out of his throat.
“Listen, Aki--” Angel Devil starts when Aki returns, but Aki cuts him off.
“Hold on, just, shut up for a second.”
Aki slides the gloves over his hands, then he walks towards Angel Devil, getting so close that their knees touch.
“Let me fix your tie, it’s bothering me.” Aki leans over, loosening Angel Devil’s tie.
“Plus your buttons are off. Honestly, do you even own a mirror?”
Aki removes the tie, and he starts to unsnap the first few buttons of Angel Devil’s dress shirt, exposing his collarbone. He briefly holds a hand over the back of his rapidly reddening neck, then adjusts the buttons into their correct holes.
“There,” he says as he pats Angel Devil’s chest, “all done.”
Aki starts to reach for the tie on the table, but Angel Devil grabs his hand, holding it still over his heart.
“Aki,” he huffs, his own body flushed to a faint pink, “feel my heartbeat.”
Angel Devil looks up into Aki’s serious eyes, feeling the most earnest he’s ever felt as his heart beats faster and faster against Aki’s gloved palm. He takes a deep breath and explains.
“I dreamt of you and it didn’t make me want to die.”
“Thanks?”
“So, that’s why I’m here. I rushed over here without thinking. I wanted to see you. I needed to see you. I just like being with you. I-I like you. I want to date you.”
Aki looks uncomfortable, frozen in place with a stunned look on his handsome face. Angel Devil releases his grip, but Aki doesn’t move.
The words I like you too sit on the tip of Aki’s tongue, but they won’t come out. That’s what he’s supposed to say, what he should say, but for some reason, he can’t.
“I’m sorry, Angel,” he says instead, “I like someone else.”
“Denji?”
Aki’s face contorts in disgust.
“No, no,” Aki replies, finally removing his hand from Angel Devil’s chest, “Denji is a friend.”
“Power then?”
“Stop, just stop.”
“Then who?”
“Makima.”
“Oh.”
Aki drops down in his seat, taking a sip of his now-cold tea.
“I don’t dislike you, Angel,” Aki continues, defeated, “I mean, obviously, you’re beautiful.”
Aki takes a moment to observe the angel in his kitchen, his glowing auburn hair, bright eyes, and quivering, plush lips. Aki gulps.
“I would be lying if I said I’ve never thought about kissing you,” he continues, “and, honestly, I’m really happy that you confessed to me.”
Aki squeezes Angel Devil’s shoulder, “I care for you, Angel, but my heart belongs to Makima.”
Angel Devil hopes the tears welling in his eyes don’t fall, that Aki doesn’t notice that he just shattered his heart into a million pieces, but instead, Aki gently wipes away Angel Devil’s tears with his gloved finger.
“It’s okay, Angel. I’m here for you.”
Angel Devil’s tears turn into full fledged sobs, and he buries his head in Aki’s lap.
“You’re so confusing, Aki,” he whines.
Aki smiles as he softly strokes Angel Devil’s hair.
“I know, I’m sorry.”
“Aki,” Angel begins, sinking further into the comfort of Aki’s lean thighs, “mm in a dae w me”
“What?” Aki laughs, the sound like a fresh breeze on a spring day, “I can’t hear you like this.”
He gently tilts Angel Devil’s head up, bringing his tear-stained eyes in line with his own.
“Go on a date with me,” Angel Devil repeats.
“Okay,” Aki replies as he pats Angel Devil’s head.
“It doesn’t have to be just us,” Angel Devil continues, “let’s invite Power and Denji too.”
Aki opens his mouth, closes it.
“Okay, let’s do it,” he replies.