Work Text:
It was an unremarkable day two months after running away to China (Aki had... One year and eight months left) that Angel had a realization. He’d been sitting on the counter (Aki told him to stop doing this, that the counters were probably not very sturdy in such a rundown apartment. Angel reminded him he weighed 70 kilograms soaking wet, even with the relatively heavy prosthetics.) It was evening and there was warm light filtering in from a lightly cracked window. He was nursing a mug of rooibos tea (tasted almost like bubblegum, much more palatable than coffee) when it came to him. Suddenly he was not holding the mug and there was a loud crashing sound as it shattered on the floor.
Aki came quickly, a bit too much fear on his face for the situation until he took in the scene properly.
“Ah. The prosthetics can be hard for holding things like that. I’ll clean it up,” Aki said, already grabbing a cloth for the tea when Angel spoke.
“Aki. Make a contract with me.”
Aki stopped dead and stared up at him from where he’d started to crouch down.
“You don’t make contracts.”
“Haven’t yet. I’m trying new things,”
“Okay? What would the terms be, then?” Aki asked, now standing fully. He seemed bemused, like Angel was pulling a practical joke on him that he just hadn’t figured out yet.
“Mmm... Well, I can’t give you back your own lifespan obviously. You gave most of it to a different devil, and I can’t return those two months you gave me like an idiot. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t be able to give you the lifespans I’ve siphoned from other people either, but if we made a contract... Call it devil’s instinct, but somehow I know it would work. You’re nineteen, right? Left as is you’ll die at twenty-one. Humans live for a maximum of around a century, so I give you seventy-nine years. That way unless Makima comes knocking or you get in a car crash, you can live to one hundred years old.”
Aki’s face was really something to behold at this point. He’d gone totally slack-jawed, staring at Angel like he’d sprouted a second pair of wings.
“You- Why would you- What do you... What could you possibly want from me that would be equal to seventy-nine years of life?”
“Well firstly I want to be able to touch you without siphoning lifespan from you. If I gave you seventy-nine years and you immediately gave me back a few months making sure I didn’t get hit by a truck I’d smack you. Plus I’ve never had a boyfriend and it would be nice if we could do more than hold prosthetic hands. Oh! That can be a condition of the contract too. Be my boyfriend.”
Aki sighed and reached for the cloth he’d set down on the counter at some point.
“You know, that’s not very nice, Angel. If I wasn’t resigned to my fate you might have gotten my hopes up,” He said as he wiped up the cooling tea, careful of the shards of ceramic. He stood to get the broom and dustpan. Angel watched him sweep up the pieces. They made an interesting sound, clinking together. Almost like wind chimes. Where had he ever even heard wind chimes? Not important.
“I’m serious. I don’t care if you need to take some time to think it over but the offer’s on the table. I don’t want many things. Even if you were a billionaire I probably wouldn’t have anything better to ask for. That’s what I want,” Angel said. He tried to add as much conviction as he was capable to his perpetually monotone voice. To his own ears, it still sounded more or less completely flat. Oh well.
“Let’s say I believe you. How is that fair as a contract? It’s weighted too heavily in my favour. One of your conditions means I’m not in danger of losing lifespan if I touch you. That benefits me way more than you. And the other condition... I mean you already knew I was interested in you anyway. I pretty much said as much. I would say yes with no contract.”
“Contracts don’t have to be equal, you should know that. As long as the devil and human agree, the deal can be weighted however heavily in favour of either party. But even if it needed to be a deal I considered balanced, it would work. I consider this an equally weighted contract.”
“How?! How can you perceive this as an equal trade?” Aki yelled.
Angel looked away.
“Have you considered I might want you to be alive? The seventy-nine years you get... That’s also something I want. I’ve never really cared about anyone before. Or- No, that’s not right. I keep having these memories, especially since we left- there was a beach. Humans smiling- smiling at me. A girl with linking chains across her forehead. I think... no, I know I cared about them too. The point is, you grabbed my hand to save me even though I was happy to die. You spirited me away to China just in case I was in danger back in Japan. I may not be very sentimental but it would be hard not to care a little bit at this point, even if you piss me off every time you decide to save me. It’s not like I wanted the ability to siphon years from people and I can’t wield weapons I make with them as well using these anyway.” Angel said, nodding at his prosthetics.
“So, Aki?” Angel asked, finally drawing the nerve to look back to Aki’s face. His expression was totally blank, but there were tears slowly starting to fall down his face.
“You’re not even gonna ask me for my good arm or something as an offering?” He asked numbly.
“You’re a real bastard, Aki,” Angel told him, scowling. “I’ve only felt a real hand on me once I can remember properly and it was when I took those two months from you. I’m not taking your damn arm.”
It was at this point that Denji and Power burst into the apartment, wrestling over a package of beef jerky like two brawling alley cats. After six weeks without incident, Aki had loosened restrictions on their outings somewhat, mostly for his own sanity. Denji had gouged two holes into a headband for Power to make it look like her horns were part of a costume. Angel was torn between thinking it was idiotic and reluctantly admitting it worked to make her look more like a human. It was still certainly eye catching, but people thought she was just very odd rather than a fiend or devil.
“Give that back, Power, we agreed to split it fifty-fifty!” Denji yelled.
“Lies! Lies! Power remembers Denji agreeing she would have all!” Power yelled back.
“You made that memory up and you know it! Hey uh, what’s with the vibes in here? Whoa, Aki, are you crying, man?”
Aki frowned and brought his good hand to one of the tear tracks on his face.
“Huh. I didn’t even realize,” he said before wiping off the rest of the tears.
“I proposed a contract. He gets seventy-nine additional years of lifespan. In return I can touch him without siphoning lifespan and he agrees to be my boyfriend.”
Power and Denji looked between each other, eyes wide.
“How much lifespan does he have right now?” Denji asked. Oh for fuck’s sake. Of course Aki hadn’t told his little ducklings. Aki frantically brought his prosthetic hand to cover Angel’s mouth but it was still easily intelligible when Angel replied.
“One year and eight months.”
“Topknot-less you bastard! You were gonna just die and leave us to fend for ourselves!” Power said, pointing an accusatory finger at Aki.
“Aki, is that true?” Denji asked softly.
Aki sighed, dropping his prosthetic hand and bringing his good hand to pinch at the bridge of his nose.
“Yeah. You know about my contract with the curse devil? I gave it a lot of my lifespan. In my defence most of the times I used it I would’ve died right then if I didn’t. Though I never exactly planned on living long. Didn’t have any family to miss me. Figured if I got my revenge I’d die happy.”
“Well you’ve got us now so you’re not allowed to die, got it?” Denji said. “If you die then I’ll definitely starve cause I can’t make toast without burning down the kitchen. So you have to take the contract. It sounds like a sweet deal anyway. You’re not tricking him, right Angel? There’s no catch? If there is one I’ll chainsaw you.”
Angel put both hands up.
“No catch. He tried to make me take his remaining arm to make it fairer. I was telling him he was being stupid as you arrived.”
“Why would you do that, moron? It’s already hard enough for you to cut vegetables as is!” Denji yelled.
“It’s not like I want to give up my other arm but it’s like you said, the deal felt too good to be true, okay? Look I- I just need to think about this.”
“Think about what?! This is perfect. Just make the contract now before you can get weird about it.”
“Just. Give me a day. Tomorrow I’ll decide,”
“End of today, final offer,” Denji declared, like he was on some kind of game show.
“What? That’s not how this works,” Aki said, throwing his hands up in exasperation.
“Any longer and you’ll overthink it and decide you deserve to die or something. Fuck that!”
“Power concurs,” Power agreed, nodding sagely.
“I- God, fine. End of today. But I’m not making dinner in that case so it’s gonna be takeout today- A cheap place. Or instant noodles but Angel has to be supervising. I’m gonna go out and get some street food or something and think about this.”
“Yessir!” Denji agreed, saluting. Power shrugged.
“Power will simply eat the remaining jerky.”
“No the hell you will not, you wench!”
Their argument started back up as Aki got his boots on and stepped out. Angel rolled his eyes at the brats and hopped off the counter to make himself another rooibos tea.
It was almost midnight when Aki came back. He took off his jacket and boots and sat down right there against the wall in the entryway. Power and Denji had fallen asleep waiting for him slumped against each other on the ratty couch they found who knows where. They were lucky it hadn’t had bedbugs or something. Angel was sitting on the counter yet again. He jumped down and came to sit next to Aki, careful of maintaining some distance just in case.
“So?” Angel asked.
“You know, I didn’t even know what I was doing when I only had to plan for a year and three quarters. I never thought I’d have to think about anything past then and even though I was scared of death, in a way that was kind of a relief. I knew that there was nothing I could do about it so I didn’t even have to feel guilty. You’ve really complicated things, you know that?” Aki said. Angel snorted.
“Taste of your own medicine,” Angel muttered, mindful of not waking the brats.
“Hah, I guess so. It’s just... Now that I have the choice, I’ve realized I must’ve been maybe a little bit suicidal because it’s terrifying. The idea of living to old age.”
“You’re just figuring that out now?”
“Shut up. How was I supposed to know before I had the choice of living longer?”
“You gave up all that lifespan to the curse devil, didn’t you? You got into devil hunting in the first place, didn’t you?”
“Yeah. I did.”
They fell into silence.
Eventually Aki whispered something.
“Okay. I’ll do it.”
Even if he hadn’t heard him he would have felt the seventy-nine years siphoned from someone- no, two someones in different proportions, slipping away from him and shooting off in Aki’s direction. Angel locked eyes with him in wonderment.
“Aki, the lifespans. The years. I felt them leave. You have them now. That means-” Angel was cut off with a muffled noise of surprise as Aki grabbed his face with both hands (cool prosthetic and warm flesh), and brought their lips together. Even though Angel knew intellectually that this was okay now, he still had a moment of panic, waiting to feel lifespan siphoning. When that didn’t happen he suddenly felt so strangely giddy, verging on hysteria, that he started laughing breathlessly into the kiss. Aki pulled back, quirking a brow.
“It worked. You can touch me and I don’t siphon your lifespan. I mean I knew it would work but I felt it,” Angel said. “Could you kiss me again? I was freaking out for most of that one”
Aki huffed a laugh. “I’ve wanted to kiss you for ages, don’t say it like it’s some kind of imposition,” he said, before closing the distance between them again. Aki’s lips were so warm, Angel thought. And they tasted like some artificial fruit flavour, maybe orange. Must be chapstick. Then the kiss deepened and Angel always thought this part seemed gross, would wrinkle his nose at kiss scenes in movies when tongue got involved but this actually felt really kind of good. He kept thinking warm, warm, warm. So warm. Eventually Aki pulled back and rested their foreheads together.
“Hey, even though I don’t have a clue what I’m going to do with all this time, thank you.”
“Idiot. I was being selfish, I want you here.”
“Yeah, yeah. Thank you for wanting me here, then.”
“You’re welcome, I guess,” Angel said before slowly pressing a kiss to each of Aki’s cheeks and then his forehead and chin, just because he could.
“I wouldn’t have thought you’d be this affectionate even with the ability to touch me, you know,” Aki mused.
“I’m sure I’ll stop acting so embarrassing after I get it out of my system.”
“I didn’t say it was a bad thing,” Aki said, chuckling. At this point Denji let out a massive yawn and sat up, stretching. Both of them froze. Angel shuffled away, not wanting to be seen in physical contact with Aki before it was clarified that he was not siphoning lifespan from him. Denji looked around and spotted them sitting in the entryway.
“Aki! You’re back! Why are you guys sitting on the floor? Did you decide yet?” Denji asked. Power stirred next to him, grumbling and rubbing at her eyes.
“Topknot-less has returned?”
“Yeah I’m here. I agreed to the contract.”
At this both of the brats immediately woke up the rest of the way. Denji ran up to him and tackled him in a hug, while Power had scooped up her cat under the arms so it faced her.
“You hear that? The human will be serving Power for many years to come!” She told it.
“Who’s serving you, you goddamned pest,” Aki grumbled from where he was crushed under Denji. Power ignored him and cackled maniacally as she spun the cat around. The damn thing must’ve been touched in the head from spending so much time with Power because it didn’t squirm or try to swat her, instead it started purring so loudly that Angel could hear it across the room. Denji’s head suddenly popped up.
“Wait, that means you two are finally dating! Oh my god you two were totally kissing just now weren’t you, your lips are all swollen. Aki and Angel sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-” Denji was cut off by Aki shoving his face away with his good hand.
“Shut the hell up, are you twelve?” Aki asked rhetorically. Aki suddenly yanked his hand back “Did you just fucking lick me?!”
“Coulda bit you too, be grateful,” He said, flashing his razor sharp teeth. Then he stood up and made his way over to Power.
“Come on Power, let’s give the new boyfriends some privacy,”
Power stopped spinning her cat around and looked between Denji and the two men in the entryway.
“Hmm, Yes. Power does not wish to witness any copulation”
The two of them plus cat retreated to their shared bedroom while Aki spluttered after them in mortified rage. After they left, Angel turned to him.
“You know, against my better judgment I find myself not hating your two strays. At least now that they’re not around twenty-four seven. They rile you up easily, and you’re cute when you get all annoyed,” Angel mused. Aki rolled his eyes.
“No wonder you were always getting on my nerves when we worked together. Not that you really stopped after we ran away. But, yeah. They’re... They keep my mind off heavy stuff by being so obnoxious. I think I should figure out a way to get Denji enrolled in a high school. He’s been through too much shit, he should be going to math classes and making normal teenage friends.
He’s been learning Mandarin surprisingly fast, so I think he could pick up the rest as he goes. He might need tutoring though, I don’t think he has like, any schooling. I guess I could help him with some basics. Oh, maybe if I tutored local kids learning Japanese I could get some extra money for him to get private tutoring, that’s a job I can do with one good arm. I’m just worried about him being in public so much, in case... You know. But it has been a while now, and nothing’s happened yet. Obviously Power couldn’t go to school, but she’s happy as long as she’s got her cat. And I think me and Denji, now.”
“You really care about them, huh?”
“Yeah, I guess I do, god help me.” Aki said, before yawning.
“Well, I think ‘copulation’ might be a bit much for me today but I’ve always wondered what the fuss was about sleeping right next to someone.”
“That sounds... Really, really nice” Aki said. Angel stood, mostly making use of his wings to flap himself upright rather than trying to use his arms. The prosthetics were well made tools but it still felt odd and disjointed to do any complicated motions with them.
“Careful with those things, nearly got a face full of feathers,” Aki grumbled halfheartedly. Angel stuck his tongue out at him. When they got to their shared bedroom Angel surveyed the two thin futon rolls on either side of the room. One was a new purchase to eliminate the danger of sleeping divided only by a pillow. Angel had insisted even as Aki had tried to say it was fine. Even if Angel liked being near him, the idea of waking up to Aki's bare foot or shin touching his skin and his body lifeless was enough to override that once the image got into his head.
“I have an idea” he said, grabbing one and dragging it to the centre of the room before repeating the process with the other. Now they had a stack of two thin futons that combined might just be approaching comfortable. Angel flopped down onto them. Not half bad, he thought.
“Take off my prosthetics?” He asked, pouting up at Aki.
“Okay, bossy,” He teased, already reaching for one of them. After they were off, Aki got himself ready for bed, brushing his teeth and removing his own prosthetic arm. When he returned, he lay down next to Angel. After a stretch of comfortable silence, he spoke.
“Two of these futons is way better than one”
“Right? I may be some kind of genius.” Angel mumbled sleepily. Angel had gotten drunk before, but he was starting to think physical proximity like this with Aki was better. All the warm, mellow, soothing feeling without any of the incoordination and nausea. Aki snaked his arm under Angel’s back, careful of his wings, and pressed his cheek into the hollow of his neck. That growing warmth bubbled over in Angel’s chest, and he felt an uncharacteristic soft smile spreading across his face. Oh well, it was too dark for humans to see clearly anyway. He would allow it this once.
“G’night, Angel”
“... Goodnight, Aki.”
If Angel stayed awake a while longer staring down at Aki’s youthful face in the sparse moonlight, imagining what he’d look like in ten years at twenty-nine, then in twenty years at thirty-nine and so on that was no one’s business but his own.