Access was just about to head out on a heist. He complained as Angel fitted him with the latest Dark outfit.
"But why can't you come with me? They always end up almost catching me! They never catch you! They're never even close!"
"Hey, I solo all the time, squirt. Grow up!" Emil riffled his hair, which was a deep red that flared out at the sides slightly. By now it was long enough to put in a ponytail, like Emil's.
"Fine…." Access pouted.
"There. All done." Angel patted him on the shoulder. "Good luck, Access!"
"Yeah, sure, whatever." Access sighed. "C'mon, With." They headed out.
"Take your time!" Emil called after him, a huge grin on his face. "Ah, they grow up so fast, don't they?" He chuckled. They were alone now, only a few candles lighting their dark home. Angel blew them out. She had long ago forgotten the reason for blowing out the candles, as it had become a habit now, but there was still that time of year she would have nightmares.
"Oh, let him have his nights off… He's still a child, Emil." Angel sighed, putting away her sewing materials.
"He's thirteen. He's almost as old as we were when we decided to 'grow up'."
"But that was different…" Angel frowned. There was a long moment of nothingness. They hadn't had a night alone like this for a long, long time….
"Angel?" Emil broke the silence at last by saying her name.
"Yes, Emil?" Angel glanced over, sitting down in the chair next to the dining table.
"Do you still love me?"
The blue-haired teen blinked. "Of course I do. Why would you think otherwise?"
"If I told you I loved you right now, would you believe me?" Emil stepped over to her, bending down so that he could whisper in her ear.
"Yes. What reason would you have to lie?" Angel smiled a bit, his hot breath tickling her ear.
"Will we spend the rest of eternity together?" He was kneeling next to her chair now, but his voice was still so close by her face. He kissed her cheek, taking her hand.
Angel closed her eyes. She squeezed his hand gently. "Where are you going with this? Of course we will. We're best friends… No, more than that. We've always been together."
"Do you remember the day we met?"
Angel giggled. "Yes… today. Over ten years ago." She said fondly, recalling the short, pig-tail haired little girl that had been drawing circles in the dirt alone until her red-haired playmate came. She hadn't forgotten to get Emil a gift, like she always had… She had been planning it.
Emil smiled. "Are you… still afraid of the dark?"
"Yeah… but as long as you're here to protect me, I know I'll be okay." Angel leaned down a bit, kissing him on the cheek like he had done earlier.
"Will you let me protect you?" He squeezed her hand softly. "Will you let me be your light?"
"Of course, why wouldn't I?"
"Will you let me hold you forever?"
"Emil, where are you going with this? I want to hold you too…" Angel paused, feeling something small and cold slip into her palm.
"Will you be my light?" Emil held her hand with both of his now. He swallowed nervously, looking down at their joined hands. He could feel her eyes on him, even though the inky black sky veiled their sight.
"I will." Angel said slowly, confusion marring her face. She watched him carefully.
An orb of shadow magic formed above them, showering them in its soft lavender glow. This was the moment of truth.
His violet-crimson eyes, turned violet by the light, met her beautiful indigo ones.
"Will you marry me?"
Her eyes widened. She saw what was in her hand now: a ring. She felt the air leave her as she breathed her answer in a soft whisper.
"Yes."
Emil seemed surprised. Then he gave her a smile, his expression overflowing with pure love and happiness. He slipped the ring on her finger and brought her into a hug, laughing with joy. He spun her around, holding her by the waist, capturing her lips in a kiss.
She laughed too, tears coming to her eyes. She suddenly felt as if she couldn't breathe without him.
Emil set her down, still kissing her, holding her close with his hand at the small of her back. His other hand came up, cupping her face, caressing her cheek with his thumb.
He finally pulled back. "Hey… don't cry now." He said softly, wiping her tears gently.
"But… I'm so… unbelievably happy. I don't know why…!" Angel hiccupped, "I… I love you. I love you, Emil."
The redhead leaned down, resting his forehead on hers. "I love you, Angel. I want to spend the rest of my life with you…. I want to thank you for everything you've ever done for me… for saving me."
Angel sniffled, looking up at him. "Saving you?"
"Angel… here is the whole, complete truth right now." Emil said softly, still cupping her face. "From the first moment we met… you saved me. Without you, I would have drowned in a world I didn't belong in. I would have grown up bitter and troublesome, an even worse person than I already am right now."
"Emil…"
"No, listen. When I was younger, I wanted to steal the world and the sky and everything beyond it for you… but I never thought that would be enough to repay you for everything you've done for me. Marron, that necklace, my first kiss, my 'purity'… you've treasured everything. I made all of the promises I did, and now… I want to give you all of myself. And I still think… it won't ever be enough." He stroked her hair gently, "We'll go to Japan. I'll always protect you. I'll always stay with you. I'll be your guardian angel. I won't let anything happen to you. I'll tell you everything. Do you remember?"
"I do… my little phantom thief." Angel smiled gently, her tears beginning to subside.
"When you first came to the orphanage… I thought that I never wanted to see you cry like that again. I knew you had this huge hole in your heart, and I wanted to be the one to fill it. That was just like me. When you said you wanted to save your parents… honestly, it kind of made me sad. I thought that I didn't want you to go away… and that I was glad you didn't." Emil said quietly, guiding her over to the bed, where they sat down. "And when I kept those secrets that I did… it was because you were my angel, and I wanted you to be able to fly without my burdens weighing you down. Ironic that God gave me wings in the form of With… but when I really thought about it, it was you who granted all my wishes. I owe you my life, Angel, and even more than that. I don't even know how I'll ever repay you. I don't deserve you…"
"Emil, don't say that. Don't…. I love you, and no one else."
"I know… and I wonder why, sometimes. We… we're so different. You were my heaven-sent savior, and I was simply the fallen angel who didn't belong in Heaven or Hell. From the very beginning, we were from two different worlds… And yet, here we are…"
"…Creating our own." Angel smiled, her hand reaching up and pressing his closer, his warmth against her face. "Emil, stop saying these things. You don't need to owe me anything… Just stay with me."
"I am the great Kaitou Dark. I have never been captured, and no one's ever stolen my prize before me. But you… you're amazing, Angel. You are the only one who's ever been able to capture me… because you stole my heart. And I don't care if you never give it back or if you break it to pieces. I wanted to give it to you." Emil kissed her again. The magic light went out.
Angel tried to pull back, but it only ended up with her back flat on the bed. Their lips parted for just a moment so that she could speak. "I wanted to give you a gift too."
"What is it? I don't need to owe you more." Emil gave his usual boyish grin as he lay on top of her.
"My heart. You stole mine too… a long time ago."
"Seriously, you guys could have warned me…"
"Hehe… Sorry. But we did put up the curtain, Access."
"Yeah, well…"
"Expect it to happen more often, squirt. Me and Ange are getting married."
Access choked, his face becoming red. Angel giggled again, and Emil gave a stupid grin. Access took a moment to compose himself before he glanced at their faces. "…No way. You're serious?!"
"Why, yes. Did you want to marry me too?" Angel joked, "I'm really going to be your sister now." She giggled, covering her mouth politely.
Access blushed madly. "N-no, I just… I mean, you're not kidding? You're actually going to…?"
"Yup. So we might just get you your own bed and put it in that corner there…" Emil motioned.
"Big bro… you're mean."
"You can be the best man."
Access' face brightened suddenly. "Really?! Cool!"
Hikari smiled down at his latest work. His skill was coming closer and closer to his final realization. Angel stared at his growing look of madness for a moment, and then knocked on the door to signal her arrival.
He looked up in surprise. "Oh. Niwa-san… I mean…"
"It's okay. I can speak Japanese too. My husband taught me." Angel smiled a bit. "If that makes you more comfortable, we may speak it."
"…Thank you." He said curtly, turning away. "What do you need? Does your master wish to buy? I'm closing commissions."
"Eh? Why?" Angel blinked, coming into the studio.
"Because… It is finally time to start my greatest masterpiece." Hikari gave an ominous smile. "All of my experiments have come down to this."
"You… are planning to dedicate all of yourself to this, are you not?" Angel asked patiently, struggling to understand his complicated Japanese. She had only learned the basics.
"I will abandon all else for my ultimate aim."
"…To pour life into the works of art that you create." Angel nodded.
"My hands… they are stained." Hikari commented absently, staring down at his skinny fingers.
"Huh?"
"I made a deal, you see… There is a forbidden technique that I have learned." He gave a frightening smile, looking down to his newest painting. He picked it up carefully by the edges, walking over to the wall of other paintings. He put it down there, and then turned around to face Angel, his hand sweeping out towards his side to indicate all of his work.
"These countless works… These countless objects… I have performed experiments to a degree no one could ever measure. Over and over again, I have given life to so many hideous and grotesque things." He said this in such a tone of disgust that even Angel could feel the angel and sadness of the works of art, as if they were truly alive.
She was getting scared now, but she kept her composure, simply watching his movements and listening to his seemingly random rant. He seemed to be so alone, if he told all of this to the first person that walked into his studio in such an unannounced manner.
"Don't say that… if they are alive, you'll be hurting their feelings."
"Feelings? Pah. These things don't have feelings. Just like all other monsters, they're worthless." Hikari frowned, his golden eyes narrowing as he picked up a small sculpture of a cross, "But this one… it will. I will make sure of it."
"This one? Your masterpiece?"
"Indeed… it will be the greatest thing man has ever seen." Hikari gave a low chuckle, "My life's work…! The sole reason I sold my soul to the devil! All in order to create this one work of art! I will create life!"
Angel's eyes widened. The devil?! She gasped, taking a step back. Obviously the dedication with which he had applied himself to his art had driven him to the brink of madness. He had obviously not seen a single other soul for a long time.
"Tell me; are you a worshipper of God?"
The dark-haired woman blinked, still staring. She made the mistake of letting her indigo irises meet his mad gold ones.
"Well… yes…" She said slowly. He had called his own works 'monsters'… but she could see that over time, ever since he had arrived in Munich when he was fourteen, he had grown to be a monster by means of his own craft.
"With the power to give life…. Am I a devil?" Hikari's crazed eyes captured her gaze and didn't let it go. "Or do I possess a power equal to God himself?"
Angel didn't answer. She was trembling.
With all of her might she broke her gaze, bolting out of the studio.
Hikari let out an insane laugh.
The blurred line between being the Devil and God… was the catalyst that would drive him into pure and utter madness.
"Damn, a whole year…! It's been a whole year and all we can steal is scraps that Hikari let leak…"
"Emil, don't worry so much. It just gives us more time to be together." Angel sighed. Ever since her visit with Hikari the previous year, no new arts had been coming out. However, the Niwa boys and Angel had slowly been discovering the "lives" within the arts. They were rousing.
"Yeah, I know, so we can have our wedding… but…"
"Your passion lies in being my little phantom thief…" Angel knew well that not all of Emil belonged to her. He had always been destined to be the great Kaitou Dark that he was now.
"Angel…" Emil glanced over at her. He looked thoughtful for a moment. "After our wedding… let's go to Japan."
Angel smiled a bit. "Of course. We said we'd go together, remember?"
"Yeah… But first… this last art he's making… I need to steal it."
"I know, and Access and I will both help you." His fiancée nodded in understanding.
"This will be our last act as Dark here, I guess." Emil looked amused by the idea.
"Oh, don't be silly. You can always still be Dark." Angel chuckled.
"Yeah, all I need is With, Access, and you." Emil held out his hand, a charming smile on his face. "Come on, Ange. I'm going to steal the sky for you."
Angel blinked. "What?"
"Let's see if Kaitou Dark can give you something I never could." He still smiled. Angel returned it and took his hand.
In a flurry of feathers, black wings adorned his back, and they were in the sky, twinkling with diamonds and lit up by the blinding moon.
The redheaded thief held his beloved bridal style, her arms around his neck. She held on tightly, staring around in wide-eyed awe.
"This… is all yours, my angel." Emil said softly, a warm whisper in the cold air, "You are the only bride in this world who will be able to fly."
"…You always did give me wings." The young woman in his arms giggled, her long, navy blue hair waving in the wind, brushing his arms.
"Soon… you will be a Niwa, Ange. Are you excited?"
"More than anything in the world, I've waited for this moment…"