Disclaimer: This chapter is the one that brings the rating of the fic to M, it is shorter because I had to cut a big portion in between since it is not allowed by TOS, you can find the explicit NSFW version on AO3 at this link: works/48604954/chapters/126061483 (you need to add the site domain!). If you can't find it, ,y author name is the same there: anchestral

In any case, I hope you enjoy the reading!

Chapter 8. A Curse and a First

Aki pushed the wooden door, which opened with a creak, and held it until Angel too had entered inside. He walked through the narrow entrance, decorated only by a coat rack where he placed his jacket, a little wet from the light evening mist, and looked around: more than a room, it was a small hovel of a few square metres. The bare, white walls created a contrast with the aged cherry parquet floor, which was a little raised in some spots; it too creaked when Aki walked. In the middle of the room, above a dingy red carpet, there was a bed covered by white sheets. Set aside, under a small window from which an annoying breeze blew inside, there was a desk, also made of wood but light-coloured. The only decoration on the bare walls was a mirror, placed at the side of the bed. It was all so shabby; he had to expect it from a hostel off the beaten track and for which he had paid just over two thousand yen.

Angel in the car had suggested he go to there. 'To continue our discussion in comfort' he had told him, and Aki had ended up accepting. He sighed sadly: everything was about to go downhill and he knew it, he was about to make a big mistake.

At the end, it was not Aki who reconnected, as he had planned, but Angel, exploiting the excuse of work to have the chance of a conversation longer than a sterile and spiteful small talk. The mere thought that Angel, the laziest person he had ever met and perhaps one of the most indolent of all mortal and non-mortal existences, had taken the trouble not only to talk about work, but also to have actually done something on his own to advance the case, only to have an excuse to talk to him, made him feel flattered.

He had once told him that he would have preferred death to work. Apparently, he now preferred work to not being able to talk to him. Was not talking to him even worse than what he hated most? Perhaps he was travelling too far with his mind, but as soon as this consideration slightly stirred his imagination, he found his heart beating a little louder in his chest. After that conversation in which Aki had apologised to him, they had first ended up having dinner together, then they were again in the car alone, talking. Details and successions of actions that no longer mattered in that moment, if they had ultimately led them to be together in that room. Aki didn't even remember them, to be honest. He was definitely about to do the bullshit of the century, what Denji and Power would remind him of, teasing him for weeks, as 'the screw-up of the month' (or perhaps the supreme one?), there were no recommendations or advice from his superiors that would hold up in comparison.

He turned to Angel, he was taking off his shoes at the entrance. He then left his jacket on the coat rack, just as he had done moments before. Aki, watching the movement, discovered himself wondering how it was possible that every action made by Angel was so meticulously precise and graceful as to inspire in him a feeling of tenderness and protection... not that Angel needed that.

How was it possible that his demeanour, which at that moment he would have described as sophisticated, clashed with his tendentially sarcastic and direct nature. Angel was the owner of so many contradictions, yet Aki couldn't help but find his ways so magnetic. He continued to watch him as he sighed complaining about the cold they had caught, he was cute even when he was grumbling and wrinkling his nose in annoyance.

He liked Angel, it was a truth that had long hovered in his mind but he had preferred to ignore until a short time before.

Yet, the moment he had come to realise it, he had felt ready, almost as if he had been born to live in that moment. He was not the type to back down after a decision, even when his choices appeared foolish and reckless in the eyes of others, and even to his own sometimes.

Angel parted his lips ready to say something, perhaps about the fact that Aki had been staring at him strangely for far too long, but the he didn't let him. With his hand, protected by the black glove he now wore most of the time, Aki covered his mouth. He made him step back, pushing him slightly with his body, until Angel ended up with his back against the wall and Aki's other arm at the height of his head. Angel looked up in disbelief at the other's eyes, and Aki could see the part of his cheeks, not covered by his hand, turn red. He also felt his face heat up. He closed his eyes and the distance between the two of them, kissing the back of his hand right where the angel's lips were, on the other side.

Could that be considered a kiss?

Most likely not and, most likely, it was also one of the closest things to a kiss the two of them could have ever had. He mentally called himself an idiot: he kept wishing for every touch, every second with Angel, and with every tick of his imaginary clock, he could feel himself sinking deeper and deeper into the lion's den. What was worse? That the subject of all his innermost desires, to which he never listened to, was untouchable, in the truest sense of the word? Or that if he dared to give in too much to said desires, and touched him, he would be killed? He tried to push those thoughts away: it was not the time to contemplate such depressing things.

He opened his eyes again and met Angel's once more, lit up by the bright reflections of the halo, wide-opened and surprised, contoured by the very long, reddish eyelashes, a detail that strangely Aki had not yet noticed.

Aki blinked several times in enchantment, and after a few too many seconds spent admiring him, he shifted his gaze and his palm from his lips. His movement was blocked by the angel's hand, which grasped his wrist and brought it close to his face, letting it rest against his cheek. Aki caressed it and Angel kissed his covered thumb, without moving his hypnotic eyes from Aki's. He lingered, stroking his full lips with his finger as Angel continued to kiss him ever more lustfully. Aki felt strained, both because his heart was raging in his chest and his mind was begging him to take everything, and because he could feel his body temperature shoot up.

'Aki, try to keep some control,' he told himself mentally. His self-control was almost manic, the ability to keep everything in its place was a source of pride for him, but when it failed... Aki was aware what happened in cases where he let himself go completely. It was always fun for the man who could savour the moment, at least in the beginning. But for the one who then had to put the pieces back together? It certainly wasn't.

"You can touch the wings," Angel told him, slipping off his glove and moving his hand carefully, letting it sink between his feathers this time. They were soft, much softer than he had imagined. He twirled them between his fingers, stroking them and observing them, they were small but thick, he wondered in excitement if Angel's skin was also as soft. He then moved his hand to another spot, continuing to smooth the plumage with gentle strokes over the entire extent.

He heard a moan coming from Angel.

Aki turned his attention to him and saw him panting heavily, his chest heaving with laboured breaths and his face completely flushed; he could feel all the blood flowing away from his brain to go elsewhere.

'Goodbye self-control, Aki', now the one who was deciding was definitely not him, and he had to hope his cock didn't make him do things he would regret.

[...]

Angel tried to pull the sheet from under them, Aki moved automatically to allow him to do so. He laid it on top of Aki, then lying down and resting his head on the other's chest, protected by the fabric, snuggling in like a cat. Aki was softened by seeing the scene. In his own trouser pocket he searched for the pack of cigarettes. He took it out, pulled one out, after tapping it on the bottom, and once lit, began to slowly and gently stroke Angel's red hair as he smoked. He felt at peace with himself and the world, as if all problems and anxieties had lost all importance; they no longer seemed so serious and looming. He wished that moment lasted as long as possible; the time would stop at that one night, at that instant; the next morning would never come and they wouldn't even have to return to their daily routine. He was happy, he felt alive, even though the feelings of remorse were beginning to emerge slowly in his mind. Lucidity was returning.

He craved so many things now, his chest ached at the thought that he could never have them. What was the point of having sex if he could not have the simplest and most beautiful things of love. A kiss, a cuddle, holding hands... all precluded.

He puffed heavily.

"Do you do this every time after that?" asked Angel.

"What?" replied Aki surprised, stopping the caressing.

"Smoke after ... sex?"

"That's a big word 'every time'," he chuckled.

"Don't tell me that was your first time?"

"No...you're the second."

Angel sighed, somewhat relieved.

"Was that your first?"

"There aren't many freaks like you out there who would attempt such a crazy thing, Hayakawa."

"Ah, yeah," Aki chuckled again, with more gusto this time. Thinking about it, no one was even attempting to approach Angel at Public Safety...

"What were you thinking?" urged Angel again.

"Why don't you make contracts?"

Angel rolled over, turning his face and full attention back to him.

"They are not convenient at all, and no one accepts them."

"What do they consist of?"

"It depends on the cases, mainly it's about the life span. It is better to take it this way than to steal it with absorption. However, the price is high. I don't like to make pacts with humans."

"Would you make a contract with me?"

"What would be the point? I can't give back the time I stole or the other devils took from you, if that's what you're thinking," he reacted wearily.

"It's not about that... you can decide the terms, can't you? You could make your power not work with me and not ask me for my remaining time. What do you want in return?"

"I won't make a contract with you."

"I can give you my soul if the price is high."

"Ah," he laughed sarcastically, "you want to sell your soul to the devil! Do you hear yourself? As if I would let you wander for eternity in hell with me... that would happen. I don't want it."

"Then I'll stay with you for as long as I have left. I stay with you and you stay with me, that sounds like a fair deal to me. I'm giving you my time even if not as you intend. I have nothing else to offer..."

Aki could hear the pain in his own voice as he said those words.

Angel remained silent. He thought about it for an amount of time that seemed endless to Aki, especially since his expression did not betray him for even a moment, not revealing even a hint of his thoughts. Then he finally extended his hand toward Aki's.

"It can work. Aki Hayakawa, are you sure you want to make this contract with me?"

The sound of how his name melted in Angel's voice, how it rolled on his tongue was beautiful. It was just right. He wanted to always hear himself called only 'Aki' by him.

Aki shook his hand, not without the concern that something might go wrong. This time it wasn't like when he grabbed Angel, during the Devil Typhoon's wrath, and all his energies were drained away with frightening, overpowering violence. However, after a few moments, a sharp pain that became more and more intense, struck him in the wrist, as if the skin at that spot was being ripped away.

It reminded him of when the Fox Devil took her payback.

Aki hissed in pain.

Small droplets of blood began to run down his forearm, staining his shirt sleeve. He looked at the incriminated spot: a small engraved chain was appearing. He noticed that the same thing was also happening on Angel's wrist just below the chain he already had. The blood was contaminating his diaphanous skin as well. The two incisions on his wrist looked very similar; but theirs that had just formed, besides being identical, had slightly rounder and smaller links than the older one.

"It worked..." stated Aki incredulously.

"Yes, I didn't absorb anything from you."

Aki moved his hand closer to Angel's cheek. He brushed it with his fingertips. His skin was smooth and soft, as he imagined. He rubbed it again, this time laying his hand completely down and stroking it. Angel looked into his blue eyes with a look that seemed happy, later shifting his gaze to Aki's lips. Slowly he leaned in and kissed him lightly, pulling away immediately. His lips were really soft, Aki's heart was thumping boldly in his chest. He wanted more. He leaned in and stole a kiss from Angel, another kiss and then one more. He was sure he had made the right choice and that Angel was glad too, that they were really connected in a deeper, more intimate way like that.

They continued kissing again and again, Aki did not know if it had already happened hundred times or thousand times; he wanted to do it so many times he would lose count forever, more and more passional, continuing to roll in that bed all night long.

Power was walking around the house frantically. It was fucking 7:30 a.m., Denji was still in his room snoozing, keeping telling her he would be up in five minutes, and of Topknot and her breakfast there was not even a shadow. Seven-thirty in the morning!

She was walking restless down the hallway in front of the entry door, past the kitche,n and into the living room. Living room, kitchen, hall. Hall, kitchen, living room. It was becoming unnerving.

As soon as she turned toward the kotatsu, with her back to the door, for what could easily have been the hundredth time, she heard the sound of keys being pushed into the keyhole, the handle turning, and the door opening. She turned round fast and found herself face to face with him: her breakfast maker, Aki. What he had done to stay out all night and return so late, she didn't care in the slightest, but blowing up her breakfast. What nerve that human had!

Denji emerged, all too energetically, from their room and dashed in front of him. He had been in such a hurry that he had put nothing on and had come out of the room in only his underwear. The three of them made eye contact, and Aki shifted his gaze from Denji to Power. He didn't even have the courage to speak!

It was Denji who broke the silence, "So you guys made it up! Now I guess our Aki is no longer a virgin, I told you so, Powy!" He threw an arm around Aki's neck, squeezing him affectionately.

Aki was stunned; his face slowly turned an increasingly bright red color.

"I wasn't already a virgin, you moron," Aki replied, collecting all the calm he had left in an attempt to appear at least mildly indifferent to the comment, and to maintain a little of his air of integrity.

"What? So it's just me?" replied the other astonished.

"Not everyone is a 16-year-old loser with the girls like you, Denji!" snickered Power.

Denji widened his eyes and tried to change the subject as fast as he could, "Powy! He didn't deny it, he really slept with him. And how did you do that? Come on tell us!"

Aki remained in icy silence lowering his gaze before exploding, "Enough! Did you clean this place up or not?" He also began walking around the rooms frantically to check on them.

Aki had also definitely lost his integrity that day and the battle with his pesky roommates.

Author's note: Hi everyone! Welcome back, I hope you liked this chapter, it was the first one I wrote for this fic uwu

I just wanted to say that the part where Aki and Angel kiss is inspired by the wonderful Carme 5 by a the ancient roman poet Catullo. I post here the English translation but I recommend to search it on youtube and listen to it in latin!

'Let us live, my Lesbia, and let us love, and count all the rumors of stearn old men at a penny's fee. Suns can set and rise again: we when once our brief light has set must sleep through a perpetual night. Give me a thousand kisses, and then a hundred, then another thousand, then a second hundred, then another thousand without resting, then a hundred. Then, when we have made many thousands, we will confuse the count lest we know the numbering, so that no one can cast an evil eye on us through knowing the number of our kisses.'

See you soon with next chapter :3