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Intention is what matters in love (and food)
It’s not a government secret that Angel would eat about anything, literally anything. After months of budding up with Aki though, the devil got rather fond of human food; especially the homemade meals his partner often brought up to work to get him stop eating random zombie flesh and soft serve ice cream. The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, or something like that is what Angel had heard several times while in the living world, and he didn’t need to be an actual human to know the particularly popular sentence applied for a foodie devil like himself as well.
That’s how he fell for Aki, after all. The man was a great cook.
Of course, the hunter’s looks and personality played a big part in that matter, but that’s something Angel would never admit out loud.
It was a chilly night, and the devil curled in the sofa of his living room wrapped in a blanket, munching animal crackers (they are cute, alright) and passing channels mindlessly on the TV. Putting on a random soap opera for white noise, Angel’s thoughts diverted to the black-haired man; an unpleasant churn in his stomach pestering almost instantly.
Ugh, that feeling again. Being a devil, he understood little about emotions. It felt like déjà vu though, like some time in his blurry past he had felt that same “butterfly” batting its wings violently, hurting his intestines whenever he thought about certain someone. But when was it? Who was it? Angel would probably never know.
“Surprise him with a homemade meal! There’s no way to get no for an answer with that, it always works!”
“I don’t know, is it really a good idea to confess over food though?”
“He’s gonna love it, I’m sure!”
Angel’s attention came back to reality when the two girls in the soap opera said those lines. Confessing, huh…
He had never thought about it. Just sharing his days with Aki at work were enough for him, he had no need for those human trivialities like confessing.
“Why am I doing this, again?” Angel sighed as he said to himself, standing idlily in front of the vegetable aisle in the super market. He was definitely not going to confess, he thought as he grabbed some potatoes. A funny looking purple thing caught his attention; eggplant? What’s that? “Well, it looks like it tastes good so why not” he added a couple to his little cart. No, he wasn’t going to confess, it was a little… thank you meal for all the times Aki had fed him, yes that was it. “Huh?” moving on the aisle he spotted jalapeno peppers “Aren’t these things spicy? Aki likes spicy food… yeah” eight peppers to the cart.
He went on like that, passing through all the isles adding whatever he found delicious looking. It might have not been a problem; it was kind of endearing, if not for Angel’s questionable definition of what delicious meant. What started as an innocent search for veggies ended up as a massive cart full to the top with random stuffs; even toothpaste (it’s mint flavored, should be alright)
After the check-out (careful not to touch the cashier in the process), he walked out of the market and towards his apartment. He was used by now to the not-so-subtle stares of passersby; he was well aware his wings and halo caught a lot of attention. Whatever, he didn’t care about most human’s opinions. The only opinion that mattered was Aki’s, and Angel was gonna make sure the guy loved his heart felt homemade meal.
The devil never cooked. With his little knowledge of human things like stoves, the only time he dared to cook his own meal he almost got his little apartment in flames; after that, Angel was content with eating whatever Aki boxed for their lunch and store-bought snacks.
He should desist on the fruitless quest, he really should. He was not fond about putting effort on tasks like these -or anything, for that matter, and it was not like Aki that was that important to him anyways…
“Ugh!” turning on the stove, Angel decided to get it over with “Stupid human with his stupid topknot and his stupid smile!”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Aki found himself dumbfounded at Angel’s request. The devil never took the initiative for anything, and suddenly being asked over the other’s apartment surely was an oddity. Before entering the building though, Aki rested his back against the light pole in front of it and lit a cigarette. The night was fresh, and having some time for himself after babysitting Denji and Power all day was godsent. He was glad to get out of his house, the obnoxious pair had been teasing him all day long about his supposed diner “date” with Angel.
“It’s not a date!” he said for the millionth time.
“Oww common! We all know you two have been getting it on” Denji said with a malevolent grin.
Aki felt his face burn “We are not getting it on stop with that nonsense!”
“I know, I know! Can’t touch each other blah blah blah”
“But you like him! You’re always buying him ice cream and packing him lunch. You don’t buy ice cream for us anymore!” Power never took her eyes off Meowy, petting the cat almost violently.
“Stop complaining Power, I will buy ice cream for the two of you tomorrow alright? I’m leaving” with an exasperated sigh he turned his back and headed for the door.
“Oh, so you don’t deny it!!! Don’t think we haven’t noticed the way you look at each other!”
Aki could hear Denji’s screams even after he closed the door behind him.
A small, tender smile formed in his face unconsciously at the memory of earlier that day. He loved them dearly, even if they drove him insane.
“Aki! You’re…earlier than I expected” Angel looked somewhat disheveled, his pinkish hair messier than usual and a slight blush on his cheeks. The feathers on his wings pointing in every direction as if the devil had been running.
‘Cute’
“Yeah, Power and Denji were pestering me all day so I decided to leave early… is this a bad moment?”
“N-no, no, come in”
Why did the place smell like…burnt?
“Angel, is everything alright?”
“Yes! Yes, don’t worry! Dinner is almost ready so you just wait here”
Angel was nervous. Sitting awkwardly on the living room’s sofa, Aki couldn’t help but get nervous as well. The weird smell filled the whole apartment and he felt a cold sweat drop on his face.
‘This isn’t good...’
The devil hunter fidgeted with his hands as he watched Angel doing…whatever the hell he was doing. Even though he was doubtful the meal the other planned was at the very least edible; he smiled nonetheless at the sight of the angel putting on a small pink apron before he chopped random veggies and threw them haphazardly into a pot. It was a sight Aki wanted to commit to memory for the rest of his rather short life.
If he died of food poisoning tonight, he would die happy to know whatever toxic meal he had been given was made with love.
They sat facing each other, two bowls filled with something gooey looking and burnt smelling placed in front of the both of them. Angel took the first spoonful.
The devil’s eyes opened wide as he hurriedly went for another.
“Wow! This is actually delicious! I should cook more often”
Aki was afraid; he definitely didn’t want to trust Angel’s tastebuds. The guy would take a bite of a fellow’s devil flesh and say it tasted just fine. But the pink haired had put so much effort into making something for him…
With a shaky hand, he was about to take a spoonful himself when the devil spoke suddenly.
“You know, I’m aware this might not be delicious for you at all. But I wanted to make diner for you, to thank you for all the meals you’ve done for me. And…”
Was he blushing?
“And I also wanted to say that- that… aaahh, never mind!” Angel started to eat rapidly, as if to avoid embarrassing himself further.
‘So cute’
“You don’t need to thank me for that. I enjoy making lunch for you, and I think it’s very cute of you to do the same for me. It’s actually endearing, and I believe no matter how it tastes; I will enjoy it nonetheless because it was you who made it. I like everything you do…”
‘I like you’
Angel’s face turned the most beautiful shade of pink Aki had seen in his life. The devil’s wings fluttered sightly, probably unconsciously, as he opened his mouth agape and closed it again a couple of times as if trying to grasp for words.
Realizing what he had just said though, embarrassment crushed him like a boulder.
“A-anyway, I’m sure it tastes alright so no need to worry!”
“Aki… Aki I li- “
Before the angel could finish his sentence, Aki had already shoved the spoon into his mouth. The quicker he died, the better. Anything to save him from the utter fool he had made of himself.
“Aki!!! Aki!!! Please wake up!! I promise I will never try to cook again!!! I won’t ask you for ice cream and-and-and I will work hard from now on!!! I won’t be lazy again I swear just…just please wake up”
Aki slowly opened his eyes. Angel’s sobs were loud enough to bring him back. He didn’t remember what happened, only that he saw hell for a moment after taking a taste of Angel’s meal. He was laying on the floor, and a teary-eyed Angel sat next to him, wings deflated and shaky hands. Even the halo had lost its usual, beautiful gleam.
“Aki…”
He used his elbows as support and tried to accommodate himself into a semi comfortable position. The sight of the crying devil was heartbreaking; Aki hadn’t felt the need to cry after his family’s funeral. He felt a little guilty, too. Making such an ethereal creature cry was an unforgivable sin.
Angel sobbed once again.
“As if it isn’t enough that every second you spend near me is a suicide mission! I should have known! I’m going to kill you sooner or later! I’m dangerous for you a-and for everyone else! Something like me… shouldn’t exist”
It was a strike of luck that Aki had put on gloves as a measure of precaution before leaving his place, because his hand moved on his own as he tenderly caressed Angel’s damp cheek and wiped it dry. The devil’s lips quivered slightly, and Aki had to use all the strength of his will not to kiss him right then and there.
He had lost his family, been left alone in the world, seen his buddies die right in front of his eyes. The warmth of having a newfound family on Denji and Power was something he wanted to treasure as long as he could; and now that he had finally realized what it meant to truly love someone after so long, he didn’t want to ever let go. No matter his lifespan would be syphoned away in a moment of carelessness; as long as Angel looked his way with those beautiful eyes of his, it was all worth it.
“I love you”
“Ah!?”
“I love you, Angel. I really do”
Before Angel could say anything else, he moved his hand a bit from his cheek until he brushed the quivering lip light as a feather, and then placed it against his own. Suddenly, he felt as Angel throwed himself to his chest and joined him on the floor, still careful not to touch any uncovered skin.
Aki wrapped his arms around him, and smiled as the angel buried his face on his jacket and spread his wings to cover them both as a makeshift blanket.
“I love you too, Aki, you idiot! You shouldn’t have eaten that! I could have killed you for real! I don’t want to lose you ever again”
He chuckled as his gloved hands caressed the soft, messy pink strands of his angel’s hair, and sighed in content.
“Now that we know how we feel about each other, how about an ice cream date in the park? The convenience store should be open still, I can buy whatever flavor you want”
The moon was full and bright, illuminating the couple sitting on a bench in the park; each with an ice cream cone on their hands.
“Does this make us boyfriends?”
“If you want” Aki smiled.
Angel seemed to contemplate it for a moment, before nodding and going back to his strawberry cone.
Silence was comfortable between them, and the black-haired man haven’t felt so much peace in a long while.
“From now on though, I’ll handle the cooking”