Chapter Text
“Practical as always, aren’t you, Aki? You’ve made quite a compelling case for the Angel Devil here.” Makima rose and stepped closer to Aki, surveying him for a moment. Her unblinking gaze was so searing and intense, it was almost painful to look at- like a solar eclipse.
Aki quickly averted his gaze, eyes settling on the multitude of pet photos Makima had placed on her office desk. Huh, she must really like dogs.
“You wouldn’t go around making trouble for me, would you, Aki? You know how much I dislike cleaning up other people’s messes. That’s something you and I have in common, isn’t it?” Makima smiled.
Aki nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I understand. I don’t take this decision lightly. If you allow him to live with us, I will take full responsibility for Angel, just like I have for Denji and Power. You have my word.”
Makima just smiled her signature cryptic smile again. “I'll hold you to it. The Angel Devil can move in with you all tonight. In return, I want you to do something for me. Keep an eye on him. Let me know if his behavior starts to seem… concerning.”
Aki frowned. “What do you mean?”
Makima seemed to hesitate for a moment. “I really shouldn’t be telling you this, but... if Angel’s going to be living with you, it’s only fair that you know what you’re getting yourself into.” Makima's expression morphed into one of sympathy and concern as she continued. “When I found Angel and brought him under Public Safety’s protection, he had just killed the population of an entire village. His own village.”
Aki tensed up at that.
Makima smiled again, noting Aki’s furrowed eyebrows. “Oh? Have you changed your mind, Aki? That’s alright. Just tell Angel I said no. I’ll take the blame. That way, he won’t be upset with you, and you won’t have to endanger yourself.”
For some reason, Makima almost sounded like she wanted him to change his mind. But Aki Hayakawa was incredibly stubborn. He came from a long line of stubborn Hayakawas, and he certainly wasn’t going to break the streak now. Aki had made Angel a promise, and he damn well intended to fulfill it. “No, it’s alright. I want Angel to live with us.” Aki said simply.
Makima almost sounded disappointed. “That’s very noble of you. Well, if Angel starts to seem unwell again, let me know immediately. I’ll take care of him.” Makima placed a firm hand on top of Aki’s shoulder and gave him a calm, eerie smile.
Aki’s eyebrows furrowed. It doesn’t take a genius to see that Angel’s struggling. Should I say something to Makima right now? For some reason, though, Aki found himself hesitating. No. Anyone would start to lose it a little if they were isolated in a public safety prison cell. And who knows what Public Safety would do to an uncooperative Devil. The thought of Public Safety laying a single finger on Angel made Aki’s blood boil.
Makima looked intently into Aki’s eyes for a moment. She leaned closer to his face. “Oh? Is there something you’d like to tell me, Aki?”
Aki shook his head. “No, Angel is honestly much more cooperative than any other Devil I’ve ever met. He seems to respect me and obeys my orders. He’s even saved my life a couple of times. He just seems a bit lonely. I think having him live with us would be the perfect solution.”
Angel felt unnerved as he silently watched this tense interaction take place through the glass windows of the office. Angel couldn’t hear a word those two were saying, but he could see Makima advance towards Aki and question him, like a predator closing in on its prey. Aki stood tall and firm, hands in his pockets, seemingly unbothered by Makima’s questioning. Angel placed a hand on the glass door, trying to resist the urge to break the glass with his fist.
Why am I so stressed out? Miss. Makima is perfectly nice. She even gave me a sketchbook and markers when I asked for them. This will all be over soon. And then maybe I can live with Aki.
Angel’s stomach was twisting itself into knots. So he tried to imagine he was somewhere else. For some reason he found himself thinking of the beach again, imagined crinkling his toes in the warm sand.
“She agreed.” Aki said simply as he and Angel walked down the hallway, leaving Makima’s office.
“What? She did?” Angel’s eyes widened in surprise. “How did you convince her?”
Aki simply shrugged.
“Mysterious. I see you’re leaning into your dark and brooding persona,” Angel said in an emotionless tone.
When Aki looked at him in confusion, Angel clarified, “That was a joke.”
“Oh.” Aki would probably have smiled at that moment, if only he could remember how to. Instead, he just continued in his usual matter-of-fact way. “I had a feeling she would agree. Makima may be powerful, and a little intimidating, but she’s not a bad person.” Aki said this as if it were the most obvious statement in the world.
“You’re right,” Angel agreed. “Makima’s always been so generous to me. To everyone. Huh. I don’t even remember why I doubted her.”
“Denji! Power!”
The two of them came running to the front door of Aki's apartment at the sound of his voice.
“Ponytail!!!” Power jumped on Aki and hugged him tightly; Aki stumbled back from the force of the collision, but managed to catch her and stay upright. “Yay! Ponytail is back! I’m hungry!” Power pouted childishly. “THE ALMIGHTY POWER DEMANDS SUSTENANCE!!!”
Denji noticed Angel standing a few feet behind Aki, a duffel bag in hand. “Oh, hey. What’s up?” Denji’s eyes flickered over to Aki questioningly.
Aki simply said, “Angel is going to be living with us now. I spoke to Makima, and she agreed. Reminder: he is the Angel Devil. DO NOT touch him; if you do, you’ll die. Or at least, that’s what happens to humans. Not sure about you two.” Aki glanced over at Angel questioningly.
“Devils and fiends can’t touch me either,” Angel quickly lied in the interest of keeping his personal space bubble intact.
Power, who had seemed ready to tackle him, pouted and lowered her hands.
Denji just stood quietly in front of Angel, looking at him in wonder. Angel looked back at him emotionlessly. “You’re really pretty, dude.” Denji said quietly after a moment.
Angel was surprised and wasn’t quite sure how to reply. “Oh. Thank you.”
“No prob.” Denji proceeded to silently question his sexuality.
“How are you feeling?” Aki asked as he started chopping up a carrot for the stir fry he was making. He looked up at Angel, who was hovering a couple feet above the ground, watching him cook.
“About…?” Angel asked, looking down at Aki quizzically.
Aki shrugged, turning and adding the carrot pieces to his frying pan. “Everything, I guess. It’s been an eventful day for you.”
“Oh.” Angel stared at the kitchen tiles for a moment, then answered honestly: “I’m not feeling anything.” Apathy had become Angel’s natural state of being. Aki shot a thoughtful glance his way, but didn’t say anything.
Angel turned to the side, eyeing Denji and Power laughing and fighting over their video game in the next room. “Aki. Do you think... do you think we’ll all be able to get along?” Angel asked. His voice sounded unusually timid.
“Ah. So that’s what you’re worried about.”
“Worry? I don’t worry.” Angel frowned. “Worry is a-”
“...human emotion, I know.” Aki interrupted. “It looks to me like you’re worried, though. Whenever you’re worried, you curl into a ball like that.”
Angel looked down at himself and realized that he had indeed cocooned himself in his feathery white wings. “Oh.” Angel slowly unraveled his wings. “You’re perceptive.” he stated warily.
“So I’ve heard.” Aki responded, swishing the rice around in the skillet. “Hey, dinner’s almost ready, can you grab those two?”
Angel nodded and silently floated over to the next room.
“Food is ready,” Angel said nonchalantly.
“Psst. C’mere, dude.” Denji waved Angel over to where he and Power were huddled together, conspiring about something. Angel hesitantly drifted closer.
"You may not be a Nobel prize winner like me… but you are alright, I suppose. We’ll let you in on our clever scheme. GWAHAHA!” Power giggled with glee.
Angel looked on in wonder. Encouraged, Denji elaborated. “Think about it- have you ever seen Aki laugh? Nope. Dude always looks like he’s constipated. Poor guy. Must be tough, having such a ginormous stick up his ass all the time,” Denji mused. “So me and Power decided to give him a gag gift, as a fun prank. It’ll definitely bring a smile to his face.”
“Yes, and we have decided you shall be the one to lure Ponytail into the trap,” Power nodded sagely.
“Alright,” Angel reluctantly acquiesced. “What exactly do you need me to do?”
“Your job is easy. Just tell Aki to go get the gift from his room. You’re like the straight man in our comedy routine. Just play it cool, and Aki won’t suspect a thing. Got it?” Denji asked.
“HOORAY! I love torturing foolish mortals!” Power cheered. Denji put a finger to his lips, shushing her loudly.
Angel casually drifted into the kitchen to convey the message to Aki, sounding as monotone and nonchalant as he usually did. “Power and Denji got you a gift. They said it’s in your room.”
Aki rubbed his head as if he was trying to ward off a migraine. “Ugh, not again. I swear if it’s another venomous snake-” he dropped his sponge into the sink and rushed off to his room immediately.
Angel drifted back into the family room. “Did you guys get him another snake?” he asked, a slight hint of accusation slipping through his monotone mask.
“What- not at all, fool! The almighty Power always learns from her mistakes.”
“Yeah, and it ain’t a scorpion this time either!” Denji beamed proudly. The two of them high-fived each other as Angel stared at them blankly. It seemed like the bar for Aki’s gifts had been set incredibly low. In fact, the bar was in hell.
The three of them paused as they heard footsteps approaching the family room. “Dinner’s ready,” Aki called from the doorway, now dressed in an adorable apron with the words “Best Dad Ever” scribbled on it. The apron had several cartoony doodles of Aki drawn on it, featuring his signature ponytail and angry eyebrows. The apron was sprinkled with hand-drawn smiley faces, hearts, and stars as well. Denji, Power and Angel looked on in surprise, not expecting Aki to actually be wearing the gag gift. “What are you three staring at? Do you know how tough it is to get food stains out of fabric? It’s simply efficient for me to wear this.” The three of them just continued to stare blankly. The staring contest lasted for a minute before Aki shrugged and casually strolled back into the kitchen.
Suddenly, Power and Denji high-fived each other. “GWAHAHAHA! THE TORTURE SUCCEEDED! DID YOU SEE HIM,” Power guffawed. She and Denji high-fived each other again.
“But he didn’t smile,” Angel protested. “In fact, he seemed completely unfazed. So your plan was entirely unsuccessful.”
“Oh, yeah. I totally forgot about the plan. Oh well. We’ll get him next time, eh?” Denji followed Aki into the kitchen.
Power sniffed the air loudly. “YAY, MEAT!” she bounded into the kitchen too.
Left alone in the room, Angel raised a hand to his mouth to stifle his laugh. What on earth had just happened? The entire sequence of events he had just witnessed was so ridiculous, it was just like a scene from a sitcom.
Angel’s eyes widened in surprise. He couldn’t even remember the last time he had laughed. No one had even been able to make him smile in ages (except for Aki, on occasion, with his signature dry humor.)
Aki poked his head through the door again, still wearing that goofy apron Denji and Power had made him. “You coming, Angel?”
Angel nodded, struggling to hide a tiny smile. “Yep.”
Somehow, Angel had a feeling he was going to like living here.
