ooo

The boy heard the click of the door, but the comfort of home did not come with the sound. Instead all he heard was the terrible silence of an empty apartment. It felt nothing like home.

He dragged his feet though the dark rooms not even bothering to turn on the lights.

"Look at him, can't you feel his despair," said the blond demon as he peered at the young man through a foggy glass windowpane.

"His despair is the reason he won't go through with it," said the angel simply.

The demon sighed. "Despair's what makes you want to end it. Not the other way around."

"Despair lets you know that that you're still human. That you're alive."

"You angels!" said the demon exasperated. "Always equating suffering and life, like it's the best thing in the world. Well, sorry, it's not. It's the worst."

"Precisely. It's because we know how bad suffering, loss and despair are that we know how wonderful love is." He looked away. "How wonderful life is."

"You think he's thinking about how wonderful life is right now? You think he cares? The man he loved just died. Was killed! By him! What he holds most dear is no longer a part of this life."

This time, the angel sighed. "That man wouldn't have wanted him to die."

"But he doesn't know that. As far as he's concerned, that man wanted him dead."

"I intend to correct that impression."

"So that's your angle," retorted the demon, his tone unusually mocking.

"It's not an angle. It's the truth."

"Yeah, sure it is."

"You know I can't lie," reminded the angel.

"Yeah, I know that you believe it."

"This man will not die tonight. Not if I have anything to say about it," affirmed the angel with the same tone he used to make solid promises. The demon knew that tone well.

"Well, you'd better do something soon, Kuro-choo, he's already at the temple-room."

The angel was momentarily confused, a state he did not like to be in. Like a beacon, he found the young man's spirit and moments later he was standing over the kid's shoulder. The former priest was muttering under his breath, "A sacrificial prayer?"

"Exactly," answered the demon.

"But that makes him ours; he's selflessly giving up his life to save another's soul."

"He's being selfish, and soul-switching is a forbidden art. He's ours."

The boy was planning on taking the other man's place in hell, it did demand a level of self-sacrifice, but the demon was right. The boy was doing it to ease his own guilt. And it was indeed a forbidden technique. There were some situations that could forgive the use of such measures. This was not one of them. The kid was going to end up in hell…"No!"

"Stubborn to the end, ne, Kuro-sama?"

"Don't you go calling me stubborn!"

The angel's breathing was heavy; the weight of the stranger's pain weighing down on him. He clenched his fist and bit down hard, his body trembling. Through the knots in his chest he still felt cold fingers at his cheek. A familiar breath whispered in his ear.

"Ooooh! Anger, I'm loving this side of you," teased the demon as he bit down on the taller man's earlobe, then licked softly at his upper neck. The angel shuddered, his anger turning into a burning frustration at feelings he could not fight. The demon's lips teased, leaving fire in their wake as they lingered just left of the angel's lips.

"Don't tempt me, Fai."

"It's my job to tempt you. You know how much I want you," said the demon, his fingers teasing at the other man's collar, his thumbs caressing tenderly.

"If you seduce me, you'll destroy everything we've worked for."

"On the contrary, I'll get exactly what I want. You."

"Not like this," insisted the angel.

"Why not?"

"Don't."

"Please." The demon's faint whisper made the angel want to weep. He grabbed the smaller man's shoulders firmly, his eyes closing in frustration and something more… something he did not want to admit was there. He was lost, and it wasn't the first time. That damn demon! Through his clouded mind a faint voice came to him. The prayers of a former priest that they'd all but forgotten existed.

"I love you Seishirou-san, please forgive me."

The demon heard it too, and his whole frame went rigid. The boy wasn't going to die…? He wasn't going to give up his life, he had not completed the sacrifice, but why?

"I love you Seishirou-san, I'm so sorry."

The words rung out in the air with a solemnity that pierced both the men's hearts and reverberated through their minds, much like the sound of church bells to a sinner's ears.

"Fine," murmured the demon. "I'll stop, 'sides I don't have to seduce an angel for another 6 months now." he said, referring to the list of prerequisites required to become and archdemon. "And don't worry, I won't pick you."

"What—?" cried the angel, more shocked then angry. What was that demon playing at?

"Don't get jealous. It's a sin! It'll ruin your precious plan." The demon did not hide his bitterness.

"Fai, I—"

"Don't. Just don't."

The demon marched over to where the boy lay kneeling and praying. He was not going to sacrifice himself anymore, but he was still praying for the man. It wasn't an immediate threat…but a threat nonetheless.

"You cheat the devil, child. That man cannot go to heaven," whispered the demon.

"Yes, he can. He was a good man," affirmed the angel on the other side.

"A good man who killed nearly a hundred people and almost killed you."

"He loved you."

"No, he didn't. Why would he love you? He had no heart to love you with."

"He did have a heart and he loved you with all of it," said the angel sincerely.

"Oh, right. He did have a heart, and you stabbed it dead!"

"He wanted you to kill him. He wanted it to end."

"And he left you alone; see how much he cared for you!" cried the demon.

"He gave his life to save you."

"To save you from himself, from his vile and evil self. And you…just as evil as he."

"No!" shouted the angel with righteous anger. "You did what you thought was right, he was a killer that you sought to bring to justice. In your own way, you did just that. You've saved his soul already."

"His soul deserves to be in hell. You know this. So does yours."

"You are stronger than this. Your love is stronger than this."

"What love?" mocked the demon. "He hated you! He nearly killed you!"

"But he didn't, did he? The Sakurazukamori didn't kill you. You know his skill was better than yours, he let you win."

"And now you're a killer! You killed the man you love! You deserve to die and root in hell for all of eternity! How could you? The man you loved? Dead by your hands!"

The demon's voice shook with uncontrollable anger and frustration, and an emotion the angel could not pin down. He gazed at the demon now and instantly knew that this had nothing to do with the young man. The demon was practically shaking.

"You killed him. You killed him!" repeated the demon over and over again, his fingers shaking as thick black nails extended outward.

"YOU KILLED HIM!"

"Fai..?" Kurogane gripped the other man's shoulders, but it did nothing. Fai's gaze was elsewhere, his head snapping from side to side, eyes seeing something that was not there.

"Dead. Dead dead dead. He's dead."

"Fai? Snap out of it." But the demon continued to squirm in his grasp, murmuring of a murder committed long ago.

"FAI!"

The demon's nails dug into the taller man's preternatural flesh, and his eyes latched onto the angel's. For the first time, Kurogane could feel the full extent of Fai's torment. He saw in those eyes the fires of hell and the screams of a thousand sorrows.

"I won't do that to you, will I?" Fai's voice was soft but so fearful; it sounded more like a child's. "I won't kill you by my own hands, will I?"

"Of course not," Kurogane's voice rang with unwavering conviction.

"But murder's want we do! I won't be able to avoid it." Fai buried his face against the taller man's shoulder, and Kurogane could feel a wetness accumulating there. "I have to kill an archangel, what if it's you?"

"I know you won't. I believe in you."

"Even if I say I won't. How will you believe me? I'm supposed to lie! A liar, a killer, it'll never end!" Fai moaned miserably. It was a sound the angel could not bear. And would never. His very being, the entirety of who he was could never see Fai suffer so, especially not because of him.

"Fai. Fai, look at me. Look at me. If you ever get to that point, ever, I swear I will give in. I won't let you go through with it, I promise. And my word, you can trust."

Fai's shaking stopped and his eyes round as he starred up at the angel. "Kurogane?"

"Don't call me that."

The demon smiled. "I always knew you liked my nicknames."

In response, the angel gave only a faint, yet familiar, "Hmph!"

"You do realize, you just promised a demon your soul?" Fai could not help but ask and be sure. He hated that his weakness had forced Kurogane to such measures, but perhaps that would make him stronger in his resolve.

"You've had it for a long time now," replied the angel. The demon smiled.

"I don't deserve you."

"But I'm exactly what you need."

No arguments there, thought the demon. "Why do you put up with me?"

"Because I love you."

"Why?"

"Because you're an idiot," replied the angel with a smirk.

The demon placed both his palms against Kurogane's cheeks and held the other's face tenderly. "I love you too. If you don't ever believe anything else, believe that."

"I do."

The angel placed one palm against Fai's hand, and the other found its way to the nape of his neck.

"Just one?" asked the demon, and this time there was no lust in his voice, only love and adoration. "You're already in deep for promising your soul to me, and I'm too happy for their liking right now. We're both going to be punished anyway….So, just one?"

This time the angel accepted, and he tilted his head down to kiss his demon's lips.

ooo

Subaru Sumeragi had assumed up until a few moments ago that the voices he'd been hearing were constructs of his own mind and that he'd basically conjured up his own demons, so to speak. But now, as he was confronted with the sight of two affectionate (to say the least) celestial beings in the middle of his living room…he had to say, they seemed pretty real. Probably had something to do with all of his spiritual powers and psychic abilities. Of course, he could also tell that one, the fairer one, was obviously a demon while the taller of the two was definitely an angel.

He sighed, knowing how difficult their path would be.

ooo

A/N: And that's the end of part one, folks! I don't really know what I'm going to do next, so I'll put it to a vote, it's either another trial (to do with the prerequisites hinted at here) or a bit of backstory on how they met…..VOTE! What d'you guys feel like reading….and while you're at it, how was this? REVIEW!

And now I'm off to write my final paper, due tomorrow….its 10 pages and I haven't started :S -did I mention that in the past two days I reread TB and atleast 5 volumes of X and TRC…. I really don't know why I do this to myself, but it really isn't my fault that Clamp is so much more interesting than my work!

Also: REVIEW AND VOTE!