A/N: Again, this was written on Tumblr already. This has 'sin' in it... in one way or another...
Du Ciel et de L'Enfer
The demon named Marinette was a simple demon, born to two perfectly ordinary demons with nothing special to her name. She was fine with that, she was perfectly happy with what she had in her life, but her independent acts were recognised by the demon world and she rose up the ranks farther than anyone ever expected her to do.
Hence why she was bestowed upon the task of infiltrating Heaven. Just like that, they handed her a set of wings and halo with a wink saying that since it was her, she was sure to succeed. And then they tossed her up to Heaven.
Granted, her disguise was far more complex than that. Her earrings let her glamour her entire appearance so that her scarlet skin was ivory white and unblemished and that her scleras were white as well, rather than the usual black. They hid her curled horns and tail and her red-spotted black mini-dress morphed into a long flowing white dress. She dearly missed the elegant swirls of her markings but that had to be sacrificed to preserve her her well-being if she was to pass as an angel in Heaven.
She knew well of her mission, and of its dangers, but still she found herself gleefully listening to the Archangels' choir amongst the other equally smitten angels in the crowd, her ears surprisingly not bleeding from the holiness. Her world as of that moment consisted of only the golden boy with emerald green eyes singing his heart out near the centre of the choir.
Adrien. His very name sent pleasant tingles to her spine and the normally prideful demon let out a dreamy sigh like some foolish lovelorn human.
A few months ago, Marinette would have never expected herself to fall for one of the stuck-up angels up in Heaven, but Adrien was very different from the other angels. The angels she had seen so far were strict, humourless and intimidating, such a contrast to the hearty demons back in Hell, but Adrien was an angel in the truest sense. He was gentle, kind and considerate and his toothy smile never failed to brighten up Marinette's day.
She met him on her first day in Heaven, when she was freaking out about her sudden mission. Subtlety wasn't her forte and her panic had attracted quite a bit of unwanted attention. Luckily, Adrien was in the area and he swooped over to comfort the distressed girl.
He didn't know what was going on or who she was but he didn't pry. He simply offered soothing strokes on her back and a lace handkerchief to dry the tears of frustration from her eyes and politely ushered the nosy onlookers away. With a charming smile, he told her to stay there a moment as he went somewhere and Marinette did, despite her better judgement. There was something about that blond boy that made her want to trust him.
When he returned, he did not come with an army of angry angels ready to oust her demonic self out of their paradise. He came alone and with a pink speckled flower in his hand.
"This is a lily from the Garden of Eden." he told her, gently placing the flower behind her ear. "It will never wither and it will remain as lovely as it was the day it was picked. Much like the lovely lady wearing it now."
He chuckled shyly as she blushed at his compliment.
"I hope you're feeling better now." And then he was gone and that had been their last interaction.
But Adrien was the son of an Archangel and he wasn't difficult to find in the angel world. She soon memorised his schedule and went wherever he went whenever she had free time just for a glimpse of him. And apparently, he didn't forget her either. He would sometimes meet her gaze and send a dazzling smile her way. Every time he did that, Marinette had to fight an internal battle not to fly over to whisk him away from Heaven to keep him for herself. Idly, she supposed that was nefarious behaviour quite befitting of a demon such as herself but she still had the mission to bear in mind.
Of course, Marinette knew that she shouldn't expect any results from this crush. That was all it was, surely. She tried not to read too much into his friendly gestures no matter how much her heart wanted to hope. She was a demon after all and he was an angel. Their relationship would never work.
Marinette reminded herself of that over and over but still time and time again she found herself gravitating towards him, Adrien, the angel with the sun blessed hair and pure smile.
She was in love with this boy and there was no turning back.
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The angel named Adrien was an angel born of high rank, the son of Archangel Gabriel, and with that came great expectations for him. He was never particularly proud of his heritage; he never earned it himself and all it brought him was endless pressure. In his entire life, he couldn't recall a single happy memory of living up there.
So when they decided that he was the appropriate angel for the mission in Hell, he took it, no questions asked, hoping he could prove his worth. Make his father look his way perhaps, if he did a good job. Regardless, he didn't have a choice in the matter.
They gave him a ring that dyed his pale skin to coal black and turned his pure white robes into leather tight black shorts, which was highly embarrassing to wear for an angel as modest as Adrien. The magic stowed away his feathered wings and halo and gave him pointed ears and a tail in their place. His eyes lost their whites and became cat-like luminescent pools of green.
He very well looked like a monster but that way he fitted well with the other dwellers of Hell. No one paid him any attention as he stood amongst the crowd of rowdy demons. Below him was a petite red-skinned girl standing in the centre of a coliseum, expertly fighting, kicking and punching the lower demons trying to mob her.
Before arriving in Hell, Adrien would have never dreamed of enjoying such barbaric activity, especially since they were demons, but if he was honest, it was the best thing he ever experienced in his life. The merriment, the energy, the craziness, it was liberating. And best of all, Lady Blood was there.
Lady Blood. It wasn't her real name, he knew, but he couldn't help but perk up at the mention of her nom de guerre. In contrary to what he was told about demons, she radiated beauty, grace and courage from everything she did. Not to mention that she smelled nice too.
He had the fortune to meet her on his first day in Hell, lost in the labyrinth of infernos and gradually growing fearful for his life, when Lady Blood picked him up, assuming he was a newcomer.
She was oddly welcoming and friendly and, although he had his suspicions, he couldn't refuse her invitation to 'play'. "Give it a try, Noir!" she urged, using the fake name he gave her. "It'll be fun!"
Her warm, warm hand took his and escorted him to a tavern of sorts, stuffed full of demons of every colour and shape, partying like there was no tomorrow. Jolly music and laughter filled the air as he stood at the entrance awkwardly with Lady Blood grinning at him in amusement.
"What's this celebration for?" he asked loudly as to be heard over the music.
She laughed, freely and cutely, as she replied: "Silly, there's no celebration! It's just fun! C'mon!"
The goat-demon girl skipped into the horde and beckoned for him to join. A huge grin of his own sprouted from his face as he indulged and went to mingle with the group of dancing demons. That night, he discovered a new talent for break-dancing.
Thanks to Lady Blood, he knew what happiness was. But it was much more than that. As he watched her spin and giggle he was charmed but as he watched her swiftly break up a fight between two demons five times her size with only a few effortless hits, he was captured.
Or perhaps addicted was a better word. He found out that she was an arena fighter, righteous punisher of sinners who got too cocky during their time in Hell, and he quickly became a regular spectator of her matches.
It was wrong for Adrien as an angel to become so interested in a demon like this, his mind knew but his body never listened.
The last demon was taken down and Lady Blood was the only one standing, appearance now fitting of her namesake as she was drenched in her enemies' blood. The crowd cheered, including Adrien who was trying his best to give the loudest cry, and chaos ensued as everyone hopped down from the stands to congratulate the female fighter.
Adrien darted in, faster than anyone else, and, struck by boldness, took the girl's bloody hand and kissed it. He shot her a wild grin. "You did great again, my lady."
She tugged her hand back and tutted at him, but the smile on her face shined as brightly as it did for him the first day.
He told himself: it was just light, playful flirting, nothing harmful or serious. But as he found himself time and time again drawn to her presence, her scent and her smile, he couldn't kid himself anymore.
The beating of his heart told him that these feelings were too intense to be mere attraction. He had fallen in love with her and he fell hard.
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Un amour chassé-croisé. A criss-crossed love. The angel and demon who knew they were pining in vain eventually moved on to another, oblivious to the true identity of the 'safer' choice.
As Adrien got to know Marinette, he found a sweet generous girl with a fierce spirit buried underneath the crybaby he first met, fascinating him with every new facet she revealed of her personality.
As Lady Blood interacted more with Noir, she began to grow fond of him, of his silly puns and galvanic antics, and learnt that this boy carried a lot of baggage hidden behind his carefree grins.
And just as they began to hope for a future with their significant other, with the right one this time, destiny had other plans. Masks and glamours were ripped off and the ruse was up. They stood staring at each other in shock for several moments, letting the truth soak in their heads.
The demon trying to accept that her messy, ridiculous feline Noir was the same tantalizingly handsome angel, Adrien.
The angel trying to accept that his stuttering, clumsy Marinette was the same awe-inspiring invincible demon, Lady Blood.
Both trying to accept that their new love was just as unattainable as the first.
Marinette broke down first and Adrien followed suit soon after. Delirious laughter echoed off the walls of Marinette's room, the sound of their own laughter bouncing back mockingly in their ears.
They had to be insane. Why else would they fall in love with the enemy and fall in love with them for the second time while they were in disguise? They were crazy. It was crazy.
As their laughter faded away, they looked at each other once again only to break their gaze from the unbearable tension in the air. Neither of them could quite find the words to fill the silence. What could they say? In the first place, they were polar existences, enemies, they shouldn't have been interacting with each other on such friendly terms. It was against the laws of Heaven and Hell.
Awkwardly glancing around the room, Adrien caught a certain flower smiling at him from a glass vase. The sight of it suddenly cheered him and he glided over to pick it up. "So you kept this lily, huh?" he said, stroking the velvet petals in affection.
Marinette stopped wearing holes into her crimson carpet with her hooves as she too focused on the lily. Looking at the tender way Adrien treated the little fragile flower made her want to be in the flower's place. A bitter-sweet smile fluttered on her red lips. "Yeah. So I did."
But Adrien didn't need her to say anything else. Just the fact that she kept the flower, placed in a vase by itself next to her bedside table said enough about how much she treasured it. The gesture greatly moved him and gave him the courage to move towards Marinette.
She flinched on instinct as he approached, eyes flitting between his enormous wings and hands that may reach for the light sword at his belt any time but the kind smile on his face calmed her down. This was her Adrien's face, telling her that he would never dream of doing her any harm, that things would be okay.
She managed to remain calm as he reached over to carefully tuck the lily in the curl of her right horn. As he touched her horn, she grew bizarrely afraid that he might think it was a monstrosity, a horrid mutation, but he caressed the curve of her horn as if it was the most precious sculpture in the world.
"Now that I look at you," he whispered, breath puffing against her nose. "I was wrong. That lily is undeserving of your beauty, my lady."
The shameless lines that spouted from his lips were lines that she perhaps expected from Noir, and hearing it come from Adrien made her relax. She smiled up at him, a smile almost too radiant for Adrien to take.
Their eyes found each other and that was all the communication they needed. No need for questions, the whys and excuses were forgotten and any unsaid betrayals were forgiven. They could read it all in their eyes. Marinette loved Adrien and let Noir steal away her heart in his black thieving claws. Adrien loved Lady Blood but sometime along the way Marinette managed to creep her way into his heart. They could read it all.
Unconsciously, he leaned in and they both realised how close they were. Adrien fought to control himself from moving any closer as to respect her space but as he saw Marinette begin to close the gap, he gave in to the temptation.
Shaking lips met in a soft, light kiss, unsure and careful, testing the boundaries. One was all it took. One taste of the forbidden was oh-so-sweet, they couldn't take it. The Pandora's Box holding back all their bundled feelings flew open and their passion, desire and longing burst out at last.
The little space they had between them was too much, they needed to be closer, closer still. Marinette's hands found their way towards his shoulder blades, to his fluffy wings, where she relished the feel of the delicate feathers between her fingers. Adrien's hand trailed down her back near the edge of her little black dress where her tail curled itself around his fingers playfully while the other cupped her chin, his thumb tracing the markings on her neck that snaked up to her cheeks.
But their pleasure was short-lived.
Marinette's skin glowed and burned impossibly hot while Adrien's wings stifled her, growing frigid and ice cold. He could feel his entire body steaming up from the heat while his feathers dug into her skin threateningly. Unable to pry themselves off the other despite the pain, they continued to kiss desperately, lost in the sweet addicting taste of sin.
Soon the pain was too intense to handle and they leapt away, panting for air and cradling their wounds on the floor. Part of Adrien's robes were burned off, revealing nasty burns on his formerly flawless skin while Marinette hugged herself to keep warm, melted frost mixing with blood and dripping from her arms.
They looked at each other and the injuries they caused in dawning despair.
This was their bodies warning them that their love was wrong. He was an angel and she was a demon. If they were ever to be discovered their punishment would be more than severe. Banishment wouldn't be enough, they would be eradicated and hunted down by their own kind for their traitorous actions.
Tentatively, trembling, their hands reached for each other and their fingers interlocked in fear, mutually trying to draw some form of support from their partner. Unforgivable love it may be, it was uncontrollable, the flames of passion untameable now that it was sparked. Marinette spoke first, almost whimpering, "What now?"
Adrien wasn't any better off. He felt close to tears himself, hopelessly attempting to blink them away. A feather from his damned wings floated innocently into his vision. Seeing it gave him an idea. A terrifying idea, but a brilliant one all the same.
As he stared at his wings for longer than necessary, Marinette caught on. She gasped in horror. "Y-you don't mean to-" She couldn't finish her sentence. The determined look on his face said it all. She glanced at her own tail, considering her options. Thinking of her love, their love, she turned to him and nodded.
The angel took hold of his wing while the demon took hold of her tail.
"We do this together, okay?"
And they pulled. Blood splattered.