Chapter Text
Rereading the post on his phone for the millionth time, Aki concluded he had to be at the right place. The house looked small from the outside, though the plea had stated there were four bedrooms. He just needed to go in to find out. If these three people were trying to assign him to a broom closet for his room, then he’d keep searching for a new place to live. This just sounded too good to be true. Too perfect for his situation. Was the universe finally working out in his favor, or was this all an elaborate joke?
Nothing to do but see for himself.
Aki got out of his car that he’d parked on the street out front, and he headed up towards the front door. He wasn’t nervous, just wary of the whole thing, so he immediately knocked once he reached it. A young woman opened the door. Aki noted her long blonde hair with two horns sticking out of the top of her head before she spoke and distracted him from the two little red and black marbled spikes.
“Who are you and why have you come to our residence?” she asked.
Aki hesitated from the immediate distrust written all over her face. Had he been pranked? This couldn’t be the right place.
“I’m Aki. I saw a post online about a spare bedroom here,” he replied.
“Why are you interested in our spare bedroom?” asked the woman.
Getting more confused by the second, Aki wasn’t sure how to respond. “You don’t need a roommate?” he tried.
Before the woman could answer, another voice from inside called out, “Just go get Angel!”
She turned and shouted, “Angel! There’s some guy here!”
Aki shifted on his feet, feeling more and more unsure about this place the longer he interacted with this person. Then, another person stepped into view, and the woman who’d opened the door stepped aside. Aki had his wits about him not to react, but the person who now stood about him was…very attractive. Long reddish hair, intense red-gold eyes, and a calmness about him that captured Aki’s interest immediately. This person was far from as unsettling as the girl with horns was. The new guy stuck out a hand for Aki to shake.
“I’m Angel. You must be Aki Hayakawa? The one I’ve been messaging online?”
Aki shook Angel’s hand promptly before pulling back into his own space. “Yeah. I’m here about the room.”
Angel nodded and waved for Aki to follow him inside. Aki stepped inside, and the woman rushed to slam the door shut behind him. She placed a hand on her hips and pointed towards her chest with the other.
“And I’m Power!” she announced.
A third person entered from the doorway behind Power. His blond hair was a mess, and his clothes were wrinkled. Aki was positive the guy hadn’t done much of anything that day. Still, he wore a bright smile with curious eyes.
“I’m Denji,” the guy said before turning to Angel. “Why’s he asking about the room?”
“Sorry, I didn’t mention it to you two because I wasn’t sure I’d find anyone.” Angel glanced at Aki before telling the others, “We all know we’ve been struggling to stay here, especially given the recent…events.”
“Oh you mean Power getting fired right after I did?” Denji asked.
Angel sighed and placed a hand to his forehead. “I was trying not to tell our potential roommate about that.”
“I mean, I don’t have a job currently either,” Aki said to reassure the strangers, though he wasn’t sure why. “I’m a grad student, so I’m mostly living on scholarships and my savings until I graduate.”
Angel dropped his hand to look at Aki again. “I promise they’re both searching for new jobs. They’re just…difficult to work with sometimes.”
“I’m a delight! I don’t know what he’s talking about,” Power said. She seemed to genuinely mean that. Maybe if he gave her more of a chance, then Aki would think so. However, first impressions can kill.
“Come on, Pow, when’s the last time you’ve even done dishes?” Denji asked her.
Power opened her mouth to argue, but Angel quickly cut her off. “We can get into delegating chores another time.” He waved for Aki to follow him. “Let’s give Aki a proper tour first.”
The house was bigger inside than what it appeared to be on the outside. Aki was surprised when Angel started to lead him downstairs into a basement bedroom. He’d only seen pictures of the room he was being offered; none of the rest of the house was pictured in the listing except for the exterior.
“This is Denji’s room and his bathroom over there,” Angel explained. “We also have the washer and dryer down here, which is why he’s got a curtain up to block his room from the laundry area.”
They went back to the ground floor where Angel motioned towards the kitchen with L-shaped counters and then the long, four-chaired table to the right of it.
“The kitchen and dining room, obviously,” he told Aki. He pointed towards the backdoor next. “And we have a decent porch out there if you like sitting outside.”
Angel led them back towards the front door and through the archway beside it where Denji had come from before. “This is our living room,” Angel said as Aki took in the tiny TV and loveseat in front of it. There were also some empty shelves and side tables covered with a thin layer of dust, but Aki chose to ignore that. They could delegate chores later, like what Angel had said.
They headed up the stairs where Angel pointed out the upstairs bathroom, the shared desk in the hall, his room, and Power’s room. Then, they went inside the first door by the stairs.
“And this is our extra room where you’d be,” Angel said, standing in the middle of the empty room. “What do you think?”
Aki was in love with the house. The location was perfect for him, the place was spacious and well laid out, and he could probably stand to live with these three after living with Himeno for so long. She was his best friend, but the woman sucked at sticking to a chore list. Aki didn’t mind pushing for some more regular cleaning though. Maybe this could be good for him, despite something off with his potential roommates. Aki wished he could confidently give Angel an answer, but he needed another opinion.
“I’ll think on it and let you know in the next few days,” he said.
“Great. Well, you’ve got my number.”
Angel led them back downstairs where the others were sitting at the dining table, not even trying to hide that they were awaiting their descent.
“I’ll text you,” Aki promised Angel.
They gave their goodbyes, and Aki headed back to his apartment with Himeno.
Once he got home, Himeno flooded him with questions. Did the pictures match the place? Were the people creepy? Would he have enough space in the room they would give him? And more.
“I’ll just say two things: the people were a little weird but welcoming and the house was exactly what I’d hoped for,” Aki told her as he sat down on the couch with her.
Himeno tucked her legs under her and reached out to grab his arm excitedly. “That’s great news, Aki! You should go for it. Did you tell them yes?”
“Not yet. I wanted to get your take on it.”
“So the people who live there already were nice to you and the house was great, but you didn’t give them an answer?”
Aki sighed as he leaned his head back on the back cushion. “I don’t know. I just got a strange vibe from them sometimes. Also, I thought it’d be responsible to wait before I made a decision.”
She huffed a little laugh. “Aki, sometimes the mature thing to do is take the opportunities presented to you. If you wait, someone else could swipe the room.”
Aki supposed she was right. Who cared if those three were a bit strange? He could handle strange as long as they weren’t bad people, and he didn’t get that vibe from them. Maybe Himeno was right and he was missing his chance by waiting it out. Maybe he was overthinking a good thing when he could just take it. He humored Himeno’s millions of questions a bit longer until she was ready for him to make dinner. He turned the idea around and around in his head, and ultimately decided: why not?
So, Aki sent Angel a text asking for the lease.
…
It’d been a week since Aki had moved in. The moving process was actually not the worst, especially not with his three surprisingly strong new roommates - even Angel’s tiny body kept up with handling Aki’s furniture and boxes of books. The semester had officially started up for Aki, just in time for him to have unpacked most of his things. He knew he was going to be busier with the load of schoolwork coming up on him, but he hoped to finish unpacking and settling in soon.
Himeno had already moved into her new apartment in another city, but Aki didn’t feel lonely without her around. She kept him updated through regular texts and calls, plus as soon as they found out he could cook, his new roommates were even more welcoming to his presence. Apparently none of the original three in the house really knew how to cook. They were lucky Aki loved it, otherwise he’d be frustrated moving in to become the chef.
As he cooked up dinner one night on the phone with Himeno, he heard the basement shower shut off. She was rambling on about a couple new friends she’d made since moving, and Aki was mostly listening. A few moments later, Denji came upstairs without a shirt on. Which was fine, but something caught Aki’s eye from where he saw the man out of his peripheral. Something dark, long, and thin. Like another appendage. Before he could turn to really look at it, Denji was shoved back into the basement. Angel was standing over the steps by the time Aki had fully turned his head. Angel turned to face Aki with a small smile and a roll of his eyes, as if there was a joke Aki was in on there. Aki was most definitely not in on whatever had just happened, but he found himself shrugging it off to finish cooking dinner so he could get back to homework.
“Helloooo? Are you even listening to me?” Her voice drew his attention back to the phone on speaker sitting next to him on the counter.
“Sorry, I think I missed that last part,” he admitted.
She dove right back into the story, and Aki made more of an effort to listen that time around.
When he finished cooking, he said his goodbyes to his old friend to plate and eat the food. They sent their love and luck to each other (something Himeno had started the tradition of for their phone calls), and then Aki was ready for dinner. The rest of the house seemed to sense it was done because they all appeared at the dining table before he called out for them. They really were an odd bunch.
“Is that your girlfriend?” Denji asked rather bluntly over their meal.
Aki nearly choked on his bite. He swallowed, coughed, then replied evenly, “No, just a friend.”
“Didn’t you reside together before?” Power asked next.
“Yes, but I’m living with all of you and none of us are dating. As far as I know anyway.”
“No one is dating anyone here,” Angel said to answer the unasked question Aki had posed.
Denji still seemed confused, so he leaned over the table where he sat across from Aki to really get his attention. “You guys talk all the time and say you love each other, like, isn’t that what you do with girlfriends?”
“Himeno has been my friend for a long time. I do love her, but not like that. I’m not dating anyone either.” Aki spoke slowly and clearly to get his point across. He didn’t need these people already rumoring about him and his love life.
Had Himeno once hinted at wanting something different with Aki? Yes, but she’d taken his rejection with grace and they’d remained close friends. Not that any of that was the business of the three practical strangers sitting with him at the table.
The conversation topic thankfully shifted, and Aki was relieved to have the attention off of him. Once they finished eating, Power and Denji were assigned the task of cleaning up with Angel hovering behind them. Aki took his leave to his bedroom, not wanting to lose any homework time. However, as he ascended the stairs, he could’ve sworn he overheard whispered reprimands from Angel. Aki wondered briefly what the two had done to warrant that, but he needed to finish his intro modules for the week. He decided not to sneak around and eavesdrop.
Though part of him wondered if it had anything to do with whatever he had glimpsed behind Denji earlier.
…
Angel often wore the most miniscule shorts around the house. Which, to be fair, it was his home. If he was comfortable in them, then he should be able to wear them in the place he paid rent. Aki often went without a shirt in the mornings or right before bed, and Power loved dashing around half-clothed with the other half only in underwear. Denji was the most clothed one in the house most days. So, the point was that it shouldn’t be an issue, and it wasn’t.
Aki just couldn’t help it if his eyes sometimes drifted to all the bare skin of the man’s body, even if he felt guilty about it afterwards.
The thing was that Angel really didn’t seem to mind, or maybe Aki was just really good at keeping his interest to himself. Like most days, Angel came down the stairs that morning wearing a shirt that nearly swallowed him whole paired with shorts that only peeked out when he stretched his arms above his head. Aki’s eyes dipped low to watch the white cotton lift to reveal tiny black fabric shorts. They weren’t nearly as baggy as the t-shirt, so they left very little to the imagination. When Angel lowered his arms back to his sides, Aki snapped his gaze up to meet his roommate’s. Angel simply gave a sleepy smile.
“What’re you working on?” he asked in reference to Aki’s notebook and laptop open on the dining table.
Figuring Angel either didn’t care or genuinely didn’t notice Aki’s hungry, roaming eyes, Aki told him about the studying he’d been in the middle of before his class that day. Soon enough the other two in the house made their way into the kitchen to rifle around for breakfast. Aki had already been up for a couple hours and had eaten before diving into his studies. He packed up his notebook and laptop into his bag for class. He bid everyone a goodbye and headed for the door.
Sparing one last glance over his shoulder at the three eating cereal at the dining table and deep in conversation, Aki felt something snap into place in his heart. He liked these people. He felt welcomed here, safe, and happy. Himeno always made him feel that way, but he never expected to find new roommates so quickly competing for her spot as his only friend. Maybe they were a tad strange, but Aki was both too happy and busy to give a damn about that. In all honesty, Himeno was an odd one too. That didn’t mean he valued her any less. Aki was grateful to have found this house and these roommates. He felt like this was the beginning of something good for him.
And hope was something Aki had been lacking for some time.
…
Being stranded in the mortal realm was honestly not as bad as Angel would’ve expected. However, it was a lot more difficult than he’d anticipated to hide the fact that he and his newfound friends weren’t from there. Sure, his baggy clothes hid his wings well enough most of the time. But there was Denji and Power to consider now. They were careless compared to Angel; Power rarely followed his advice in wearing a hat or telling people her horns were a fashion statement, and Denji was just more relaxed than a demon in hiding should be about stowing his tail away beneath his clothing.
After nearly exposing said tail to Aki after his shower one day, Angel sat the both of them down while their new roommate was out for groceries.
“You have got to try harder to keep that thing under your clothes. If you mess this up for us, then I will single-handedly make you regret it,” Angel warned Denji. Then, he shifted his attention to Power. “And you need to be careful how you speak. I know your horns are harder to hide, but unless you want to go back to Hell you’ve got to be more cautious.”
Power huffed as Denji started defending himself, “It’s just Aki, man. He lives here. He’s gotta know that Power’s horns are real, and he doesn’t seem to care. Why should you and I have to hide?”
Angel laid his hands down flat on the dining table they sat at. “Look, we don’t know if Aki minds or not. He’s very busy and desperate to have a home, so that’s probably why Power’s horns haven’t come up. We can’t assume he wouldn’t give us up if he found out for sure about all of us.”
“Then we should throw him out,” Power stated, rocking back in her chair casually.
Heaving a deep sigh, Angel explained, “We can’t afford to. Neither of you can hold a job, and I barely work right now. We need him to help us, or we’ll be homeless.”
Both groaned but accepted his terms.
…
It wasn’t thrilling to have a boring, part-time, retail job in order to be housed on Earth, but he sucked it up. The real issues were that Power didn’t care to do the same and Denji was reckless in his way of doing things. He’d tried to get them jobs with him, but both were fired within a month of each other. Angel had been trying to find them both new jobs whenever Aki moved in, but their new roommate seemed to have better luck. Meaning the two of them had interviews that day for jobs that they might actually be able to hold down.
Angel was pleased with Aki’s efforts to find something for the younger demons since he knew more about mortal jobs than Angel could ever hope to know. And Aki didn’t even know the full story. It was quite admirable. A lot of things about Aki were, though. Angel had found himself noticing more and more about the handsome human that moved into their home. He’d caught Angel’s eye upon first meeting, and he’d done absolutely nothing to redirect his gaze since.
As Angel sat on the counter while Aki made them both lunch, he admired the way his face relaxed as he concentrated on cooking. Angel was wearing his usual short sleep shorts, and he’d noticed Aki’s eyes drifting every time he turned to say something to Angel. His wandering gaze wasn’t nearly as secretive as he must’ve thought it was, but Angel pretended not to notice. Honestly, he liked the ego boost. He also liked having Aki’s attention, especially when they were alone like this.
Aki plated their food and set both plates down on the dining table. When Aki turned expectantly towards him, Angel felt bold so he motioned him back over to the counter. Aki seemed confused, but he went anyway. He stopped a few feet away from Angel and seemed to be waiting for words to explain why Angel wasn’t going to eat with him. Angel parted his legs in answer. Aki’s eyes followed the movement before they snapped back up to Angel’s eyes.
“Do you want to do more than just stare at me, pretty boy?” Angel wasn’t sure where his boldness was coming from given the way they’d skirted around this topic prior. Maybe it was his excitement at the other two roommates finding jobs. Maybe it was just time to address the elephant in the room. Maybe Angel didn’t need a reason.
Because Aki approached him properly until he stood between Angel’s thighs that squished against the countertop. Angel reached out to run his fingers from Aki’s shoulder down his arm, stopping to wrap around his wrist and drag him even closer.
“Do you want to kiss me?” Angel asked.
Aki held his steady gaze somehow, even as nerves danced behind his eyes. “Yes.”
Angel used his hold on Aki’s wrist to place his hand on his upper thigh. “You can.”
“Do you want me to?”
Of course Aki wanted clear consent. He was too good.
“Yes, I do,” Angel declared.
That was all Aki needed. He surged forward to capture Angel’s lips with his own, and Angel nearly moaned from the force of it. He’d expected some small little peck for their first kiss, but this? This was a proper kiss. As if all the time they’d spent dancing around how much they wanted each other boiled over at that moment. As if neither of them had the patience to dance any longer. Angel was ecstatic and far from complaining.
Wrapping his arms around Aki’s neck and his legs around his hips, Angel dragged him impossibly closer. Aki pressed up against him deliciously as he moved his tongue against Angel’s with an expertise the demon hadn’t expected. Not that he thought Aki was a virgin, but Angel was thousands of years old; he never expected mortals to know what they were doing in comparison. Yet, Aki was undoing Angel’s resolve to keep cool about this. As Aki’s hands began to follow the path his eyes always loved to take, Angel whined for more already. Aki’s fingertips dipped below the bottom of Angel’s shorts before moving back downwards to grip forcefully on his outer thigh.
Angel scratched at Aki’s shoulders and the back of his neck. He wanted him closer and closer still, but there were too many clothes in the way. Angel was a split second away from tearing one or both of their shirts off whenever the front door clicked unlocked. Aki was off of Angel in a heartbeat and making his way over to the cooling plates of food on the dining table. Angel hopped off of the counter and tried to saunter over to the table as casually as possible.
Power and Denji didn’t seem to notice their red, spit-slick mouths or blushing faces when they bounded over to take their spots at the table as well. They were practically exploding with excitement after their interviews, and Angel found it easier than expected to set aside his desires to feel excited for his friends. However, every time he caught Aki’s eye, he knew that they were far from finished with what they’d started in the kitchen.
…
It took them two whole days of heavy stares and lingering casual touches before Angel broke.
Power and Denji had ended up scoring their new jobs at a pizza restaurant nearby. That day was their first shift, which just so happened to be at the same time. Angel had decided as soon as he heard about their scheduled training that he’d had enough dancing around whatever was going on between Aki and himself. The door to Aki’s room was slightly ajar when Angel made his way towards it. He lightly knocked on it twice.
“Come in,” Aki called out.
Angel pushed open the door to reveal Aki laying on his stomach on the bed reading some textbook that was probably boring. Angel latched the door behind him, and Aki looked a little confused.
“Busy?” Angel asked even though it was obvious what the answer was.
Aki slid his bookmark between the pages, shut the book, and sat up to set it on the bedside table. “Not anymore. What is it?”
Angel meandered in the direction of the bed, taking in Aki’s bookshelf and desk on the way with his fingers brushing over each surface. He felt Aki’s eyes on him, carefully watching every movement. Angel hoped that Aki felt a shred of the anticipation that he did; he felt as though he’d explode from the tension of it if they didn’t address the line they’d crossed the other day in the kitchen.
“I think you know,” Angel replied after a few moments of silence.
He met Aki’s heavy gaze and saw that he was correct in that statement. Angel reached the bed and crawled up from the foot of the bed to where Aki was sitting until their faces were mere inches apart. Angel wanted to say more, ask Aki what he wanted exactly or what this all meant for him, but he was quickly silenced by Aki guiding him towards his lips with a hand on the back of Angel’s neck.
Angel went easily. They could save the talk for later. After whatever it was that Aki wanted because Angel was positive he wanted it too. As soon as their lips met, Aki leaned back and pulled Angel down with him. Angel took the hint and climbed on top of Aki as he reclined on the pillows. With Angel straddling Aki’s lap, they were able to kiss with more intent. Aki’s hand slipped up into angel’s hair, gripping onto it to hold him in place as he licked into his mouth. Angel whined, the pressure delicious and the taste of Aki on his tongue again even better. Aki’s other hand found its way onto Angel’s hip where he massaged the bone gently.
It was like the bubble burst the moment their lips had touched again. Whatever had been holding either of them back just disappeared. They both wanted this, wanted each other, so why not? Angel hadn’t had a sexual partner in ages, and Aki was easily the most attractive human he’d encountered since getting trapped here. With the way Aki held him, Angel suspected he’d been desperate for physical intimacy as well. Angel was happy to give it to him.
As they kissed, Angel could feel Aki’s hips twitching upwards ever so slightly. As if he were holding back. Angel didn’t want him to, so he made a point to grind against him with enough force to urge Aki to meet him in the middle. Aki groaned and tightened his grip on Angel’s hair. He pulled Angel off of his mouth and forced his head to the side. Before Angel could panic that Aki was having second thoughts, he felt lips on his neck. Angel sighed, letting his head drop to Aki’s shoulder as the man worked his mouth over the sensitive skin. As he did so, Aki began to buck his hips up against Angel’s movements. Though Angel’s tiny shorts and Aki’s thin sweats made it obvious how hard they both were, the friction was far from enough. Angel wanted more, wanted him closer, wanted to get him off.
Without a second thought, Angel wriggled out of Aki’s grasp to sit up. He grabbed the hem of his t-shirt and pulled it up over his head before tossing it to the floor. Angel closed his eyes as he expanded his wings. The stretch of them was delightful after being cramped up for so long. Angel pulled them back in, opened his eyes, then met Aki’s stare. The man below him had completely frozen with an expression on his face that Angel could only read as mortification. Disgust.
Shit.