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As each day passed, Aki's lifespan shortened. He knew that this meant he was getting closer to the 'worst possible death' the Future Devil had been referencing towards. Every day was getting more unbearable as he relentlessly wondered, if it ruled so much to a devil, how would he meet his demise? And, was there any point in carrying on?
He knew he could never defeat the Gun Devil, he was too weak, and he would remain that way up to the point of his death. If he planned on attempting it again, that would mean living longer, it would mean that he was playing in accordance with his impending death.
There was no point in attempting to change the future, Aki was going to die. He had no final say in the matter, it would happen and he would be unable to do anything. All he had control over was the present moment.
At first, Aki was unconcerned on the matter of when and how he died, he would not go insane by waiting for death to grace his doorstep. But then he met the Angel Devil, and the matter of death soon turned into something he simply didn't plan on complying with.
Lost in his thoughts, Aki hadn't realized when he put on his coat, ready to leave his apartment.
"Where are you heading?" Denji called from the television, where he sat with Power.
Aki's hand held onto the doorknob as he replied, "Errands, don't mess up the apartment."
Denji sighed and spoke in a somber tone, "Goodbye."
And he left, an air of finality lingering in the night air. The sky shone a dark blue that was left with a glimmer of orange near the skyline, as the sun had nearly completed its journey across the sky, making way for the moon.
Everything was cast with a cool hue that gave the world around it a sense of melancholy. The clouds had all but gone, and specks of white - which were made indistinct due to the harsh city lights that had turned on during this time of dusk - had begun to appear.
Picturesque buildings concealed the darkening sky as Aki strode along the sidewalks of bustling streets; attempting to hold back tears that were yearning to cascade down his face.
"I'm such a coward," he chuckled to himself, making his way across the road to a familiar building. He entered the building and waded over to the elevator. He pressed his finger to the button and stood in silence for a moment, interrupted when he heard a dinging to signify the elevator doors opening.
He traipsed along the lit hallway as he wiped his tears. He slowly reached the door and braced himself.
This was the Public Safety corporate building, where even apartments were established. Many of these were for Special Division 4 members; devils and fiends who were not to be trusted and must stay within the confines of devil hunters.
He knocked in three short instances and the door slowly opened. He saw a savior standing inside, an ethereal being made by the Gods to save him.
An angel with vermilion hair held below a glowing halo and a great pair of wings. His set of clothes didn't match his diaphanous appearance, as he wore a mere hoodie and dark sweatpants. Though the blank shade of his pajamas only seemed to enhance his beautifully androgynous features.
"Aki," The entity yawned. He parted from the door and made space for the taller to enter, Aki slowly made his way inside the small apartment.
Small was quite the understatement, the apartment was minuscule in size. In fact, it was merely a room holding a single bed laid with white sheets, a mini fridge (that quite possibly held corpses and ice cream, as this was what the devil referred to as an 'ideal meal'), and a door on the right leading off to an even smaller restroom.
That's what was provided for such dangerous monsters, most would probably say. The room was surprisingly neat-kept and the appealing decoration - which seemed to be random trinkets that were found discarded on the streets - provided a comforting environment.
Angel gestured toward the bed and questioned without a discernible tone of voice, "what are you doing coming here so late?"
Aki closed the door and wrapped his arms around the other. He inhaled into his hair and the tranquil scent of vanilla made its way to his senses.
Angel didn't question him, he merely stood with his arms to the side of his figure. They stood, and Aki never wanted the moment to pass. He wanted to stay transfixed in the present for eternity, to never be required to welcome the sickening world that always seemed to turn. 'Destiny' never waited for anyone, and so Aki didn't want to wait for it either.
He was going to do this. He had to, there was no other choice. It was either... this , or painfully waiting as time finally slowed. He was going to control his life, he didn't want anybody else to choose when and how he passed.
So, he would do this, if not right now, he would lose the opportunity. If he waited, it would become too hard; too painful.
And so, he parted from the embrace and took a deep breath, "Angel, can we kiss?"
"Are you... okay? You know I'd do this if it didn't kill you." Angel looked up at him, with his face slightly tilted in a confused manner. He felt insignificant under his piercing gaze.
Though Angel had told him countless times before that he was a devil before an angel, - meaning he was the scum of the earth Aki himself hated - he couldn't help but admire him.
Aki shut his eyes, it was too strenuous to say while looking into his ever-knowing stare. "That's kind of the point." A shuddering breath came out of the angel as Aki continued, "I'll die soon anyway, so shouldn't I die from the kiss of my beloved Angel?"
"What if this was the death you were supposed to die from anyway?"
"Then maybe I should thank destiny."
"And what if you regret it?"
The taller man merely scoffed, "I can't regret it if I'm dead, can I?"
"What if I regret it?"
Aki's eyes slightly widened, but a smirk soon spread across his face. "Hm, have you perhaps fallen for my charm? Is it the ponytail that sets you off?"
He flicked the ponytail that stood on the top of his head.
"And if I have?" Angel eyed him wearily.
"Well, that would certainly make it more difficult. But neither of us is here to stay." Aki brushed Angel's hair away from his face and held it.
Though he was unable to feel the warmth or texture of his glowing skin, as gloves were just another barrier that kept them apart. "No matter how greatly I yearn to hold you, I can't. We are fated to be apart, and I despise fate."
"So, what? Are you planning on disproving fate by kissing me?" Angel slapped Aki's hand away and stared straight at him, daring the other to look away. Aki faltered but held his gaze, even when his eyes felt like they would burn if he stared too long into the other's fiery eyes.
"It isn't just that. It's that I merely want a peaceful death." The words scorched his tongue as he spoke them as he didn't feel he deserved to desire a tranquil end.
Most of the people around him died without that luxury. His family's passing was horrendous and he didn't do anything, his coworkers died in front of him as he merely stood by.
He could have done something to stop their deaths, maybe not of his parents but of his brothers. He could have done something to prevent him from going back inside the house. He could have better protected his colleagues so they hadn't died.
He even failed to act during the death of Himeno, he could have done something to prevent it yet he was too weak and had instead been protected.
All of this, for the plot of revenge; something that grew futile as he inched closer to his final moments.
He didn't want to just give up though, which is why he spoke, "It's selfish of me, I know, but I want it to be my own decision. I don't want it forced upon me, because if I'm here, I won't leave without putting up a fight. But this, it's the only way I can go with it being of my own conscience."
"You're so stupid. What was the point in all of this if you just planned on dying?" Angel took a step back and tightened his gaze on the other.
"Angel, the whole point was to get revenge on the Gun Devil for murdering my family. And there are people I trust in defeating the Gun Devil without my unnecessary assistance. And yes, maybe there was no point in doing any of this but I feel that there was. I worked to bring us closer to finding the Gun Devil, even if it were barely in minimal ways. I have fulfilled this point I gave myself to the best of my ability, there isn't much that is left to do anymore."
"Just keep living, god damn it. Yes, you're going to die soon but there's still time, even if there feels no point just keep pushing," Angel demanded.
He had never looked so distraught before, he was an astonishing being with no reason to emanate anything but he was here with his eyebrows knotted together and a frown pulling at his lips.
"That's too selfish though, what have I done that has granted me a warrant to live? The only reason I went on was to ensure the death of my family wasn't in vain. But there is no reason now."
"I hated living too but I went on, and now I think I found it. It's you, you're the reason." Angel stated, his eyes lowering for a split second as this was the sort of vulnerability he had kept concealed for the entirety of his existence.
But he was opening up now, he was desperate to change the mind of the other and Aki knew this. He could see it in the way his wings stiffened, in the way his hands gripped onto the bottom of his top.
But the devil's gaze stood as his eyes flickered with a heat so intense the other began to sweat. "Maybe.. you can make me your reason, Aki."
The other began to speak but he went on, "I have never felt any emotions in so long, I've become desensitized due to the centuries I have lived. It has made me empty, I gave up all hope to fight. But with you, I feel a tightness in my chest, my face goes hot at the thought of you. It's an emotion I have scarcely felt before, and it makes me thirst for more. I can't lose you."
"Angel, you're making it harder to do this..."
"That's exactly why I'm telling you this. Push Aki, and keep on moving forward. Please," his voice started to quiver, and it pained Aki to see the other in this disposition. "I'll do it, okay? I'll be the reason you die, but does it have to be right this moment?"
"Yes, it has to be now because I'm unsure of the exact time I will die. And the longer I wait, the more unbearable it becomes." Aki explained. "If I wait for longer, it means I'll have to dwell on the things I regret; I want to die with no regrets and this is the only moment I feel that I have none."
"You know, you're starting to sound a lot like me."
"And you sound like me, with all the nonsense about living," Aki went on. "but now I understand that it's unbearable sometimes. And yes, I still believe dying shouldn't be taken lightly but I have thought a lot about this and I know this is what I want."
Angel held out his hands and stared down at his palms, a meager touch from them caused weeks of one's life to be erased.
A kiss would kill someone in a few minutes, but for Aki - someone with barely two years left on his lifespan - it would kill him in almost an instant. He thought for a moment and balled up his fists, taking in a breath as he announced, "Okay, I'll do it."
Aki tilted his head as he surveyed the other, his eyebrows widened with shock. He wasn't sure that he would agree, he'd expected this visit to become a waste of the time he scarcely had.
"It isn't like I can say no," the celestial entity spoke when he noticed the skepticism in the gestures of the other. "You're dying anyways."
At that, Aki smiled. He reached out a gloved hand and caressed the devil's cheek. The shorter let out a quavering sigh as he reached up and grasped onto the devil hunter's hand, lacing it between his fingers.
He took his other hand and grabbed onto the tie of Aki's devil hunting uniform, - the rich fabric used to create something that would eventually come back soaked in the blood of either devils or the hunters themselves - yanking him down toward his face.
Aki's lips were mere inches apart from the others and he could feel his breath as he asked one final time, "Are you sure about this?" Aki slowly nodded as he drooped his eyes, waiting for their lips to meet.
Aki was pushed against the wall and their lips brushed. Time seemed to slow as his heartbeat quickened as the other took in a shallow breath before he pressed his lips to Aki.
An electrifying shock coursed through the devil hunter's body. He had expected the devils' lips to be cold to the touch, but instead, they brought on a comforting warmth. His hands maneuvered to tug at his hair as he leaned closer into the kiss.
He tasted like heaven and it took all his strength to refrain from enveloping himself in the depths of what was the Angel Devil.
It was no wonder angels were so feared, they had an aura of perfection and ones greed to encase themselves in the feeling of that purity was what sucked the worshippers in. It was intoxicating, the way the others' delicate lips felt on his.
He cupped his cheek and instead of feeling the life draining out of him, he felt an air of fulfillment.
He focused on the way Angel reacted, how his legs trembled, his eyes wound tightly closed, and how he seemed to beg for more.
He had most likely never felt a touch such as this, a touch that translated such tenderness. Aki nipped at the other's lip and the kiss deepened, Angel let out a surprised gasp.
Aki slowly felt his body give up as the moment went on and he knew his time was soon over. So his final words spilled out from between his lips, "Thank you," he said, his body falling limp into the other's arms.
Angel held the corpse of his beloved in his arms, he pressed his fingers to the other's pulse and it was still.
Still. Lifeless. Dead.
He nudged him and there was no reaction. There was no flow of his breath, no subtle thrum of a heartbeat - he was gone.
Overwhelming devastation surged him, the euphoria from moments before had dissipated. It was a feeling like no other, worse than the numbness that had plagued him for eternity.
He felt as if the world were spinning, his chest constricted in a way that made it difficult to breathe. He felt as if the world itself was crushing him, his chest constricting so tight it was impossible to breathe.
He choked out a sob and he tried desperately to keep his composure. But he had kept up a poker face for so long that it started to vanish and his body racked with agony.
He let out a sob and it rendered him into a spiral of endless grief. His body jerked with every cry that tore through him and he let out a guttural scream.
He had lost him, lost the only person with whom he had felt more than a semblance of happiness. He had an abundance of things he had wanted to do with him, so many things he had wished to say. Yet all of that had been taken away from the very moment they met.
They were devil and human, one with no touch and the other with no time. They were doomed from the start, and yet, he had hoped they could be normal, ordinary people who were able to love each other. Yet their fates had always been made to end in pain.
He had been so dumb, lying to himself that they stood a chance. They had no control in the end.
It had always been destiny, the fucked up events that were unraveling from the start.
Tears fell onto the devil hunter's uniform and he cupped his cheek and joined their heads together, he had started to cool down, and that had snapped him out of his disarray.
If anyone heard, they would come and take Aki away from him. They would have the devil killed, which didn't seem like quite a dreadful fate; but what they'd do to Aki would be far worse.
They would have him stuffed into a casket while people who had never once cared for him attended to watch him be buried into the ground.
No, he would not have him turned over to the very people who hurt him. The group that had presented people with the idea of revenge to those who had pained them.
Revenge that had made every single person go insane with this desire, doing anything they could to grip onto the concept. Though it was rarely given, and most ended up as Aki had - dead.
Instead, he would truly honor him, with salvation like no other. Salvation from a devil to a human; it's a truly pitiful story.
Though he had no care, the world was fucked up and if this was what he could do to spite God or whoever had created this deranged place, then so be it.
And so, he leaned down and his lips brushed the devil hunter's skin, as he slowly sunk his teeth into his flesh.