Chapter Text
・✧･ﾟ: *✧* :ﾟ･✧ ・
A tingling on the back of his neck wakes Felix, letting him know that someone or something got inside his cottage. He can feel as the powerful presence gets closer to where he’s lying on his bed, there’s no steps, no sound besides the labored breath that fans across the side of his face, he can sense the malice coming from it and he stays completely still, waiting for the right moment, when the creature leans a little to the side, Felix clenches his fist making its heart stop long enough for him to push it away and get to his feet, taking in a defensive posture.
In the darkness of the night, his eyes take into the demon that’s huddled in the corner of his room. He can’t make much of him, but he can distinguish his massive black wings and a lean, muscled body that’s definitely male, eyes with a reddish glow glare at him and he can see where the demon is holding his side, blood flowing through his pale fingers.
Felix is familiar with the signs, the threatening posture, the snarling, all bark and no bite. He’s seen it more times than he can count. The way that a dying hippogriff will lash out at a helping hand or a dragon will spit fire at anyone that dares come closer in fear of being hurt further. They lash out in fear, anger, confusion, but most importantly, they lash out because they’re hurt.
He sighs, lowering his hands but not his guard, eyes still wearily studying the demon.
“That’s not a very nice way to ask for help.”
“I’m not asking for help.” The demon hisses. “I’m going to devour your soul and heal myself.”
“Uh hu.” Felix moves to the door to get to his kitchen. “And then you’ll die anyway because there’s magic in that wound and I don’t think you’ll be able to get rid of it by yourself, if you could you wouldn’t be here.” He takes a step into the kitchen, still aware of the demon’s presence. “Come here and stop bleeding all over my floor.”
He lights up a few candles and the fireplace with a flick of his fingers while he gathers his long, blonde hair into a ponytail, the room gets a warm, golden glow instantly, he can see from the corner of his eyes as the demon steps into the kitchen wearily.
Felix has never dealt with a demon himself, all he knows about them comes from his books and the stories he heard, but nothing could prepare him to how beautiful the man is. He has longish black hair that reaches the base of his neck, a straight nose, upturned reddish eyes, plump lips, his skin is smooth and pale, lean body but you could clearly see the muscles on his arms and the strength on them. But the wings, he couldn’t take his eyes away from them, enormous black wings taller than the demon himself, the glossy feathers shining in the golden light of the room.
He clears his throat, gesturing for the creature to sit on one of the chairs as he carefully deposits his ingredients on the table, he touches the basin warming the water inside of it and starts explaining what each of the ingredients on the table are and what they do, the demon studies him with narrowed eyes but don’t say a word, so Felix takes that as consent and starts carefully cleaning the dark blood on his side with a washcloth, it looks like a knife wound, long and deep, running along the demon’s left side, from his ribs to his right hip.
He can sense his eyes on him at all times, watching every movement he makes, he doesn’t make a sound when the healer mutters a few words, concentrating to get the magic out of the wound, it’s powerful and stubborn, not wanting to come out of his flesh. The blonde lets out a long sigh before taking a small knife from his sleeve, he sees as the demon tenses and gets ready to strike him, but before he can, Felix makes a shallow cut into the palm of his hand, slipping the knife back into his sleeve.
“Please, try to not kill me.”
He says with a smirk at the demon that’s staring at him with furrowed eyebrows. The blonde draws runes along the wound on the demon’s side, concentrating as he starts chanting the spell. Felix fights with the magic imbued into the other, fingers shaking and sweat rolling down his temple when he finally gets it out, the marks glow sapphire blue before disappearing. He lets out a sigh of relief, taking the thread and needle to start mending the wound. His hands are gentle as he works, soft and practiced, he watches closely to see if the demon is hurting, but is met only with an impassive face and suspicious reddish eyes. The eerie silence makes him uncomfortable, Felix is a talkative person, he loves to chat, but he has treated enough creatures like this to know that they prefer the silence, so he keeps his lips closed as he finishes stitching the man, applying a strong smelling ointment on the wound before bandaging it.
When he finishes, he washes his bloodied hands in the basin as the demon studies his bandaged side, he turns to put his ingredients away as he says.
“You’ll need to rest and come back tomorrow so I can apply a fresh poultice and change the bandages. It should take a few days for the wound to heal completely, considering it had magic on it.”
But when he turns back to the room the demon has vanished, no sign of his existence besides the blood in the water.
・✧･ﾟ: *✧* :ﾟ･✧ ・
It's been almost a week since Hyunjin stumbled into the healer's cottage and met the most beautiful human he has ever seen. He has been plagued with the visions of chocolate eyes and golden skin on his awake and sleeping hours.
He thought about going back but stopped himself from doing it more than once, he refuses to be swayed by a pretty face and gentle hands. Gentleness, he tries to remember the last time someone or something treated him with anything other than wrath and malice and can't find it. Since he was born, centuries ago in the pits of hell, everything he knows is hatred and rage, even after he came to the human world, he was met with pain and ire, humans attacking him and trying to send him back to hell, but he's not going back, he likes it here, life is so much funnier in the human world, even if they keep trying to kill him, maybe specially because the stupid humans keep trying to kill him.
As is happening now.
He uses his wing to protect himself from an arrow that's aimed at his head and with the sharpened tip of the other he slices the throat of one of the hunters, the man gasps, hands coming up to try and keep his blood inside his body but it's useless, there’s no stopping it, he falls to his knees and Hyunjin can feel as his soul leaves his body and a small black marking appears on his upper arm.
He senses another presence close aside from the hunters, a non-threatening one and it distracts him enough that he's too slow to defend himself from the arrow that comes from behind, he lets out a snarl of pain as it buries into the flesh of his back, eyes burning with rage he twists and kills the last two hunters with swift movements.
He turns with a growl, fangs and claws ready to slice into whoever is approaching, but he falters when his gaze meets startled chocolate eyes, they’re blow wide with surprise but not fear, the golden human hasn’t looked at him with fear not even once. Today his hair is tied into a braid that reaches his collarbones, he’s cladded into dark trousers and a loose white shirt, a satchel hanging from his shoulder, the freckles on his nose and cheeks like small stars adorning his delicate face. Hyunjin can see almost perfectly in the darkness but seeing the human in the light of the day is completely different, it’s like he was made for the sunlight, his entire being shining like the demon’s personal small sun.
Hyunjin huffs at his thoughts, what a ridiculous thing to think, the magic in the arrow must be affecting his rationality.
“There you are again, little human. Came to help your friends try to finish me off?” He looks around at the five dead hunters. “You’re a little bit late, you’ll have to try by yourself.”
The human’s chocolate eyes jump from one body to the other, Hyunjin thinks that he’s trying to find any sign of life in them, his small, heart-shaped lips form into a soft sigh.
“I heard a commotion and came to see if anyone needed help, don’t think I’ll be of any use to them.”
The demon doesn’t sense any malice coming from him, only gentleness and calmness, he feels almost at… peace. What a strange human this one is, Hyunjin has never encountered one like him before and he’s been wandering the Earth for centuries now.
“I see that you pulled your stitches and that you got a new wound.”
The blonde tsks as he lowers his satchel to the ground, the demon growls at the abrupt movement, the other pauses, eyes intent on the taller before he slowly starts to take small pots out of his bag, placing them carefully on the grass. Hyunjin studies his movements with narrowed eyes.
“I’m not going to hurt you.”
The demon lets out a snort at the absurdity of his words. Seriously? He thinks that he can hurt him? Doesn’t he see the bodies around them? They’re just a few of the dozens that he killed, the marks that cover his arms are proof of that, every creature that hurt him didn’t live more than a few minutes, he’s not one of the strongest amongst his kind for nothing, even between demons, he’s known for his power and to not be messed with.
The golden man stands slowly with his pots and fabric, he takes a cautious step in the demon’s direction, Hyunjin narrows his eyes but doesn’t attack and the human takes that as consent to get closer, when he’s close enough to touch, his pretty chocolate eyes drop to the open wound on his side.
“Can I take a look?”
The dark haired man doesn’t say anything, but he looks away in silent consent. The human deposits his pots carefully on the ground before he starts to take out the bandages on his old wound, he grimaces at the dried blood and pulled stitches.
“I told you, you needed to rest for the wound to heal properly.”
He opens his canteen, soaking one of the clothes before starting to clean the blood away with gentle touches. Hyunjin snorts.
“Well, I can’t exactly lay down and let them kill me.”
He can see as those pretty lips purse in a pout and he has the ridiculous urge to bite them.
“For a so powerful demon, you get hurt a lot.”
Hyunjin doesn’t dignify him with an answer but sends him a dark look that the man ignores, a satisfied smile curving his lips. There’s not even a single trace of fear in him. Caution? Sure, but fear? Not even when Hyunjin glared at him with blazing red eyes or when he bared his fangs. No, it’s like he knows, even before Hyunjin acknowledged it himself that the demon isn’t going to hurt him.
What a strange human he found for himself.
“Aren’t you afraid of me?”
He watches as the blonde starts to mend his pulled stitches, he doesn’t take his eyes from his work.
“Why would I be afraid of you?”
Hyunjin thinks that he should feel insulted by the man’s nonchalance, but he just feels amused.
“Well, I could easily kill you.”
He shrugs.
“So could that tree if it falls on top of me, so could another human or my next patient. You’re not as dangerous as you think.”
The demon stares at him, and stares and stares, before he throws his head back, letting out a full bodied laugh. The human lets out an annoyed sigh when he has to stop stitching him because of how much he’s shaking.
“You sure are a strange one, Sunshine.”
Chocolate eyes look up at him, fair eyebrows furrowing.
“Sunshine?”
“Yeah, when I look at you it annoys me, its like looking at the sun.”
That’s a complete lie, but the human doesn’t need to know that. The golden man rolls his eyes and goes back to his work.
“My name is Felix.”
“I didn’t ask.”
He ignores him, but Hyunjin is happy to watch as those small hands move delicately and cautiously, trying to not hurt him. The slight sting from the needle is nothing compared to some pains he felt through his existence. It’s comforting to watch the human work, from this close he can study his features, his cute button nose, his long lashes, pink lips, the smattering of freckles that dust the bridge of his nose, through his cheeks and the corners of his eyes, they’re like small stars gathered on his skin, like not only the sun wanted to kiss him but the night too wanted to leave its mark in such an ethereal being. There’s a freckle in the corner of his eye that’s shaped like a small heart and Hyunjin’s fingers itch to touch it, to see if they’ll dissolve into his touch like stardust.
Felix finishes applying the poultice and dressing his side wound before getting up.
“Now, let me take a look at that arrow.”
The demon tenses for a moment, the idea of the human touching him in a place where he can't keep his eyes on him making him feel unease, but Felix waits patiently until he nods before walking to his back. Gentle fingers run cautiously around the tip of the arrow, there's a ripping sound as the human tears his shirt to have better access.
"There's magic here." The golden man murmurs as he uses the wet cloth to clean the blood.
"Yeah, I can feel it." Hyunjin says sarcastically.
"It would be concerning if you couldn't."
There's a light tug on the arrow, making the demon wince.
"Sorry." He prods around the wound. "It's not very deep, and for what I can feel it doesn't have a head, so I'll just pull it out ok?"
Hyunjin braces himself, nodding stiffly, the human takes in a deep breath and pulls, the demon grunts as the arrow comes out and the wet cloth is immediately pressed against the hole on his back.
"Sorry."
The human repeats as he rubs soothing circles on his back with his free hand, the demon feels his muscles relax, leaning slightly against the warm touch.
"Not your fault."
They stay like that for a minute more, a gentle palm rubbing against his bare skin, Felix’s voice is low when he talks again, like rumbling thunder in the distance.
“I’ll take the magic out, ok?”
Again, he waits until the taller nods before he smells his blood, sweet and coppery in the air, and the human must draw those strange symbols on his skin again before he starts chanting quietly. Hyunjin can feel as the magic fights against him, trying to stay inside the demon and cause as much damage as possible, the hatred of its caster ingrained into it. It burns and burns and burns, but he keeps quiet and doesn’t move. They both let out a sigh of relief when it finally dissipates, for a moment he can feel the human’s forehead pressed against his back as he takes in a deep breath before taking a step back, he gathers his things and come back to apply a poultice on the wound and dress it, his delicate fingers working diligently to ensure that no unnecessary pain is inflicted, when he finally puts his things back on his bag and starts walking Hyunjin watches him curiously.
“What do you want as payment?”
The blonde doesn’t dignify him with a look, the sun shines on the golden braid that hangs between his shoulder blades as he walks away.
“I don’t want anything from you.”
And with that he disappears inside the forest.
What a strange human Hyunjin found for himself.
・✧･ﾟ: *✧* :ﾟ･✧ ・
Felix has no idea what he did, but the demon keeps coming back.
The first few times it was to treat his injuries, but now it’s to watch as he works on his small garden at the back of his cottage. At first, the creature doesn’t seem to know what he’s doing there either, just watching quietly from the shadow of a tree in the distance before launching off with a beat of his beautiful dark wings.
Felix is glad that the demon is keeping his distance, even from afar he can feel as his fingers itch to touch the glossy feathers, see if they’re as soft as they look or if they’ll cut his skin like the men who tried to hurt the demon.
He can’t feel any ill intention coming from the other, so when he follows Felix inside the woods, he just keeps an eye on him out of precaution but no fear. The demon is quiet as he walks a few steps behind him, his steps don’t make a sound as his feet touch the grass, it would creep him out if he already didn’t known that the other is nothing short of a predator, he’s made for destruction and Felix can’t find in himself the will to fear or despise him when he suspects that he’s never know kindness or happiness
Birds sing merrily as they walk through the tall trees, sunbeams getting through the thick leaves at the top and illuminating the path that Felix knows by heart. The forest is his home, here’s where he feels at easy, where he knows every single plant and animal, all the rivers and creeks, sometimes he feels like nature talks with him, showing him the injured animals and where the best fruits are, it’s just a feeling, deep into his core, he helps and protect them and they take care of him in return.
They get to a small clearing, multicolored wild flowers covering it, there’s a small waterfall at the back that ends into a translucid pond, where he likes to go to swim when the weather is hot, but that’s not why he came here today, the clearing is surrounded with bushes of blueberries and raspberries and they’re heavy with ripe fruit. He plans to make pies and jams with them. He walks in their direction with his silent shadow behind him, he can see as the demon looks around, studying the space, no expression on his beautiful face. For a while Felix thought that he lived in the forest, but he’s sure that he would have sensed him before if he had been here all along, so no, not here, he wonders if maybe he has a home like his where he goes back to every night. Does he sleep? Does he need to eat or he lives with the energy of the souls that he slays? Felix saw the marks on his arms, small lines in some kind of tribal design that cover from his forearms to his shoulders, counting how many souls he sent to the afterlife, there’s too many for Felix to count so he just ignores them.
He lowers his basket to the ground and wipes the sweat on his forehead with the back of his hand, he let his hair down today and it flows around his shoulders like a golden halo. The demon sits cross legged on the ground and watches as he starts harvesting the fruits and putting them carefully inside his basket.
It’s a few minutes later that he feels something cold slither on the back of his hand and into the sleeve of his shirt, he can’t contain a shudder at the sensation of cold scales against his skin and a giggle escapes his lips, a green snake coils herself around his neck, her snout brushing his jawline.
“Hello, Joan.”
He caresses her with the tip of his fingers, receiving a small lick from a forked tongue back. There’s a rustle in the bushes and a fox and three rabbits tumble out of it, rushing and circling around the healer’s feet, he lowers himself to the ground where the fox is fast to climb into his lap and lick his face, the snake hisses but doesn’t attack, he laughs out loud, hands coming up to caress the soft red fur, the rabbits jump around him, making space beside the fox into his lap, he tries to pet all of them at the same time but he only has two hands, the fox noses at his stomach, nipping playfully at his skin through his shirt, he squeals, falling to his back and they take the chance to climb even higher on top of him. He accepts his fate and lies on his back with the fluffy balls perched on top of him, Joan has curled herself on the base of his throat so she won’t get crushed.
“How have you guys been?”
He doesn’t receive an answer but noses are pressed against his body and he caresses any fur that he can get his hands on. He missed them, it’s been a few days since he last saw any of them, they’re wild animals, so they live in the forest, but sometimes they’ll walk inside his cottage and stay a few days with him, maybe they know that he gets lonely living by himself and away from the village, but that’s better for him, he lives far enough that any creature that needs help can find him easily, but close enough that the humans can get to him fast if they need his services.
There’s the soft sound of hooves meeting the grass and a moment later an enormous white elk walks into the clearing, his translucent antlers shining like diamonds in the sun, Felix sits carefully to not drop any of the animals on top of him, the elk comes close, brushing his snout gently against his cheek before lying at his back, he leans against his side, taking one hand to caress the gracious, strong neck.
“Hello, Sebastian.”
The elk looks at him with dark eyes before pushing the fox to his knees so he can lay his head on his lap, the fox yips but settles easily, Felix chuckles and leans back, turning his face toward the sun and enjoying its warmth, his fingers running absentmindedly through soft fur.
It doesn’t take long for the rabbits to start jumping and running around them, they climb his legs and Sebastian until one of them perches itself on his head. With a chuckle he takes the grey ball of fluffy into his arms as he opens his eyes, noticing that the demon is sitting in front of them, his reddish eyes studying Felix and the animals intently, he’s close enough to touch but keeps his hands on his lap.
The other bunnies keep running around chasing each other, the one on his arm settles easily in the crook of his elbow; the fox on top of his knees has its nose buried into its tail; the snake has curled back around his neck and the elk has his eyes closed, posture relaxed as Felix runs the fingertips of his free hand back and forth from his forehead to snout.
The healer’s chocolate gaze finds the demon’s reddish one.
“I thought you were a healer, not an animal whisperer.”
Felix smiles gently, looking down at the animals.
“They’re my friends, most of the time they’re my only company.”
The demon hums, but doesn’t say anything back.
“They’re not afraid of you.”
“They know that I have no intention of hurting them.” There’s a pause before he says quietly. “Or you.”
Felix’s not really surprised, but he didn’t expect the other to admit it, he rewards the demon with a wide, warm smile.
“It’s nice to know that.
✧
They stay at the clearing until the sun starts to go down and the animals get up to go to their resting places, Felix receives small licks and head bumps as they walk away, besides Joan, whom is curled back around his neck, showing no signs of leaving. So, he gets up himself, walking to the basket, but before he can take it, the demon is scooping it up into his arms and walking in the direction of his cottage, when he looks back at Felix, the setting sun reflects into his eyes, making them look like a burning bonfire, warm and luminous and a light against the darkness. His breath catches on his throat and he’s only brought back when the snake licks his cheek, he blinks for a moment before he runs behind the taller man.
“Are you going to steal my berries?”
He asks amusedly, he can just see a fraction of his face, but Felix swears that his lips curled into a tiny smile, he looks back at the snake that’s staring at him as if to ask if she had seen that too, but she just stares back at him with black beady eyes, he still smiles and skips a few steps as he keeps following the demon.
Felix talks quietly with the snake on the way back, the other doesn’t seem to mind hearing his nonsense, they only stop when they reach his cottage, the dark haired man extends his basket back and averts his eyes to the ground.
“My name is Hyunjin.”
Felix gives him a small, gentle smile. He thinks that the progress that they made today deserves a reward.
“Do you want to come back tomorrow for a piece of pie, Hyunjin?”
The taller looks surprised for a moment before he nods.
“Yes.”
It must be the setting sun, but Felix could swear that he saw red tinting the top of his cheeks, he doesn’t get time enough to try to see better, because with a powerful beat of his wings, Hyunjin is launching himself into the air.
・✧･ﾟ: *✧* :ﾟ･✧ ・
When Felix opens the door of his cottage the next morning the demon is standing right in front of it, he blinks for a moment at the unexpected presence, he didn’t think that the other would be there first thing in the morning, but he should have expected it, the other doesn’t seem to do anything that he expects. The dark haired man gives him a charming smile and he ignores the way his heart skips a beat at the sight of it.
“Good morning.”
He feels his cheeks getting warm and he averts his eyes as he gathers his sleepy mussed hair into a bun at the nape of his neck.
“Good morning. I wasn’t expecting you so early.”
Hyunjin frowns, and he shouldn’t look adorable, but he does.
“I thought you invited me to eat pie.”
“Yes.” Felix moves to open his windows and let the sunlight in, he hears as the other follow him inside. “But I haven’t made it yet.”
“That’s not a problem, I can wait.”
And with that he plops himself into Felix’s brown couch, the green snake that was wrapped around his wrist, slides down his body and slithers to where the other’s sitting, wrapping herself tentatively around his ankle. The demon looks down at her curiously and Felix watches as he extends his hand until the snake can sniff it, her dark green snout rubs against pale fingers before she wraps herself around his wrist, Hyunjin presses his hand gently against his stomach and the snake curls contentedly against the warm skin. The blonde smiles at the sight, he turns to start gathering the ingredients so he can start the pie. He had an inkling that the snake would like to be closer to the demon, all the times that Felix touched his skin before, he felt how his temperature is always a little higher, like he’s a walking fireplace.
Felix starts to mix the ingredients for the pie, he can feel the demon's gaze on him at all moments, from the corner of his eye he can see that he keeps a constant caress on the top of the snake's head as it sleeps peacefully in his arms.
It doesn't take long for the pie to be ready and he slides it into the oven, before turning to start on the jams. The atmosphere is peaceful, Hyunjin's presence a nice addition to Felix usual loneliness, even if the dark haired man keeps quiet, it's comforting to know that there's another being there with him. He nods in acknowledgement when Felix hands him a plate with a piece of pie and can’t stop his eyes from going comically wide as he takes the first bite.
“This is good!”
The healer smiles, giving him another piece as he practically inhales the first one.
“Thank you.”
The taller eyes the pie on the table.
“Did you make just one?”
Felix throws his head back and laughs as he eats his own piece.
“I can make more if you would like it.”
“I would.”
He nods and they go back to eat in silence.
・✧･ﾟ: *✧* :ﾟ･✧ ・
The next day Hyunjin is there again when he opens his door, the demon takes his hand on his large one and bring it to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss against his knuckles. Felix feels his cheeks burning at the sight, chocolate eyes going wide as his heart flutters.
“What are you doing?”
“Saying hello, don’t you humans usually greet each other with kisses?”
“Well, yes…” He stutters, throat going dry. “Sometimes. Not all of us do that.”
How can he explain to the demon that you only kiss someone when you have the intention of courting them? That it’s not a common custom between people that don’t have other intentions with each other. And how can he explain the way his heart is pounding against his ribcage and he can feel his entire body running hot? The idea of the demon courting him making him go all mushy and gooey inside.
He ends up saying nothing. The demon eyes the bag by his side.
“Are you going out?”
“Yes.” He steps out and closes the door behind himself. “I’m going to the village, would you like to come?”
Hyunjin ponders for a few seconds before he nods, his wings vanish in a blink and he starts walking in the direction of the village. Felix blinks for a moment before he rushes after him.
“You can hide your wings?”
He already realized that his fangs and claws would come out when the demon wishes, but he thought that it would be only that, not his wings too, since they’re so big and it must take a lot of magic to keep them hidden for a long time. Just how powerful this demon is?
“Yes, it’s easier to blend in.”
“Is there anything else that you hide?”
“My horns and my tail.”
Felix trips on his feet, almost falling to the ground if it wasn’t for the hand that grabs his arm, he looks up at the other with wide, chocolate eyes, searching his head as if the horns would just pop out of the other’s forehead.
“Really?”
Hyunjin stares at him for a while until he can’t contain himself and bursts out laughing.
“No, I don’t have horns and a tail, those are for lesser demons.”
The blonde huffs, a pout forming on his lips as he turns and keeps walking to the village, the demon’s chuckles following him.
✧
The little village never really changes, the small market at the center of it is bustling with people, everyone knows that the better produce are the ones that run out first, so he rushes to buy a few potatoes, since his aren’t ready for harvest yet, the old lady at the stall smiles warmly at him but her eyes keep darting to the dark figure behind his back.
Even with his wings ridden and his eyes without their reddish glow, it’s impossible to deny the aura of danger that the demon exhales, he eyes the humans around him with suspicion and a clear look of disgust. Felix thinks that if he could he would have nothing to do with a human for the rest of his existence. Well, he didn’t force him to come, so he’ll have to deal with it.
All the vendors greet him with smiles on their faces, most of them are or have been his patients at some point and he asks how they’ve been, as his bag keeps getting heavier from the things he’s given, Hyunjin takes it from him and carries it wordlessly as he keeps silently following the blonde.
When he finishes his shopping, he goes to the homes to do his rounds, he delivers medicine to those he knows that need it and those that are too weak to get out of bed. The demon watches as he comforts a family. The mother has a disease to which not even his magic can fight off, he did everything he could for her and now he can only give her medicine so she won’t be in pain for her remaining days. His heart breaks to see them all curled together, relishing in the time that they still have, the husband thanks him profusely for what he’s done even if he himself feels frustrated that he can’t save her, that he can’t do more.
His last stop is at the butcher. Josh, the butcher’s son, smiles when he sees him, coming from behind the counter to hand his carefully wrapped piece of meat.
“Felix, it’s so good to see you.”
“Hello, Josh.”
He gives him a polite smile as he’s still feeling down from his last visit. The man eyes Hyunjin wearily but ignores him as he starts talking with the healer animatedly, telling him the last happenings of the village. It’s a small town, so the most exciting thing was when Mr. Johnson’s cows ran through the village’s square and had everyone running around to gather them back together. Felix nods along, not really paying much attention to what the other’s saying until he feels fingers on his cheek, the touch is barely there before he feels a strong arm circling his waist and pulling him away and against a hard chest.
“You better remove that hand if you want to keep it.”
Hyun growls, eyes flashing red, Felix elbows him and sighs.
“Please, try to be nice.”
“I’m being nice, he’s still alive.”
The demon replies, but his eyes never leave the other man that has taken a few steps back, eyes wide in fear.
“It’s better that we get going. Thanks for the meat, Josh. See you.”
Hyunjin gives him enough space for him to walk but his arm is still circled around his waist, keeping him close and glaring at every human they pass by. Felix thinks that maybe his instincts are on high alert from spending so long around so many humans, his body doesn’t relax until they’re well into the forest.
“You didn’t need to do that, he wasn’t going to hurt me.”
The taller man huffs, letting him go and taking a step away.
“I don’t trust humans.”
“You trust me.”
Felix points out.
“You’re not like them, you’re different.”
He doesn’t know what to do with that statement, so they walk in silence for a while, each lost in their own thoughts until Hyunjin finally says.
“I don’t get it. Why do you all try so hard? It’s useless, you’ll die in the end.”
He must have noticed that Felix was feeling sad because of the last family. He shrugs, running his fingers along the foliage on the side of the road.
“I think that we don’t want to leave the ones we love behind, that when you cherish someone you want to stay with them for as long as possible.”
The demon frowns.
“But that’s useless.”
“Love doesn’t make sense.”
Hyunjin falls silent after that, lost on his own thoughts.
・✧･ﾟ: *✧* :ﾟ･✧ ・
It’s a beautiful sunny day when Felix walks out of his cottage to go collect ingredients for his poultices and medicine, the demon that has taken the job of his shadow following him. He talks animatedly as they walk through the forest, Lily, the red fox, and Jinnie, a black and white ferret, run along with them, chasing each other playfully. Felix smiles at the sight.
“How old are you?”
He asks as he crouches to pull mushrooms from the ground, Jinnie scales his legs and back to press his wet nose against his cheek before fast climbing down to run after Lily, the blonde laughs and soon a family of squirrels join them.
“Almost four hundred years.”
He whistles under his breath. That’s a long time to be alive.
“You must have seen so many things.”
Hyunjin shrugs.
“Not must was worth it. I remember the first time I saw fireworks, it was a really pretty sight.”
“Fireworks?”
“It’s an invention from the Orient, they mix powders so they blow in the sky with different colors, they look like flowers shining in the night.”
Felix tries to imagine it.
“It must be beautiful.”
“It is.”
“What about food? Have you ever eaten anything that you really liked?”
The demon smirks at him.
“Besides souls?”
The smaller man rolls his eyes as he starts walking again.
“Yeah, besides souls.”
Hyunjin hums in thought.
“There’s a candy from the Orient too, where they dip fruits in melted sugar and it forms a thin crust around it. It’s delicious.”
“Maybe we can try to make it here, I think I have sugar in the cottage or I can buy it next time I go to the village.”
The demon doesn’t comment that he isn’t included on his next trip to the village. Felix thinks that it would be better for everyone if he doesn’t go, the humans were afraid of him and he was uncomfortable in the midst of so many of them.
“Yeah, we can.”
They stop at the feet of a stone wall. The healer secures his satchel firmly against his side and prepares himself for climbing. It’s a steep and dangerous climb, but he needs the plant that grows only on it, and it can’t grow near the ground, no, it has to grow twenty meters high. He wills his body to stop shaking, as he has to do every time he does this, he doesn’t deal very well with heights, but he has no choice, but when his fingers find purchase against the rock he’s yanked back by the back of his shirt.
“What are you doing?”
The demon hisses.
“I need those plants.”
He motions to the purple foliage that’s barely visible from the ground. The taller man looks at it and then back at him, he seems to debate something for a while before his reddish eyes fix on the blonde again.
“Do you trust me?”
He doesn’t need to think to answer.
“Yes.”
Hyunjin seems surprised for a moment , but then he’s scooping the blonde into his arms, holding him firmly against his chest. Felix circles his arms around his neck instinctively.
“What are you doing?”
It’s his time to ask.
“I don’t want you to fall and break your neck.”
“You would catch me if I fell.”
He says with a smirk, the other doesn’t deign him with an answer before launching himself into the air, Felix suppresses a scream against his chest, arms tightening around his neck as he feels the air rush past them and his stomach drop, and then, he feels them hovering in the air, he opens his eyes cautiously and is met with the stone wall, the plant that he needs nestled innocently against it. He looks up at the demon that’s staring at him with an amused smile curling his plush lips, his wings beat gently, keeping them in place easily, he makes the mistake of looking down and the sight of how far up they are makes him squeeze his arms around Hyunjin’s neck and bury his face back into his throat, the demon lets out a low laugh.
“Finally found something you’re afraid of.”
Felix grumbles in annoyance at the other’s mocking but can’t find the words to answer him, he’s too busy clinging for dear life.
“And you were going to climb it, on your own and without anything to hold you.”
He leans back so he can glare at that beautiful face.
“Unlike someone, I don’t have wings and I need this plant to make medicine.”
Amusement still shines into his reddish eyes but he gives the blonde a gentle smile and noses at his temple.
“It’s ok, you’re safe with me. I’m not going to drop you.”
As if to prove that, his arms tighten around his back and the back of his knees, Felix takes in a deep breath before he takes his small knife from his sleeve and turns slightly so he can cut the plants and place them into his satchel.
“Why risk your life for others?”
He doesn’t look back at the dark haired man, but he can practically see the frown on his face.
“I can help them, so why wouldn’t I?”
“They don’t deserve it.”
“Not all of us are bad.”
“No, you are good, the rest of you can rot in hell.”
His words make his heart flutter, warmth rising from his neck to his cheeks, the demon has no idea what his words do to him. He doesn’t turn back when he finishes to collect the plants and slips his knife back into his sleeve.
“I’m finished, we can go back.”
But the demon doesn’t lower them back to the ground, he keeps hovering in the air and when Felix looks back at him, he’s studying his face intently.
“What?”
“I want to show you something.”
“Ok?”
“But it’s not on the ground.”
His heart starts hammering again and the other must sense his distress because he says soothingly.
“We don’t have to if you don’t want. I just think that you would like to see it.”
He looks into those dark reddish eyes and all he can see is all earnest the other seems, his beautiful features staring hopefully back at him, he nods, tightening his arms.
“Don’t drop me.”
He says, even if he knows in his core that the other won’t let anything bad happen to him.
“I won’t.”
He thinks that he feels lips pressed against his hair, but it’s so fast and in the next moment they’re getting higher with a powerful beat of those dark wings, he wills himself to not scream, even as he feels the air rushing past them. He’s glad that he chose to tie his hair in a braid today or it would be flying wildly on their faces. He didn’t notice that he had closed his eyes and buried his face back into the warm skin of Hyunjin’s throat until the other nuzzles his temple gently.
“Look down.”
He forces himself to open his eyes and look, the sight of the ground so far away makes his stomach drop, but it’s the sight of the land that takes his breath away. Everything looks so different from up here, the copse of the trees, the mountains far away, the rivers and creeks, they fly above the clearing and he can see all the multicolored flowers in a new perspective. Hyunjin lowers them above a flowing river and Felix can’t contain a happy laugh when he dips his fingers into the water and the demon flies slowly, he can see their reflection on the river and notices that the other is smiling too.
When the sun starts setting, he takes them higher than before, hovering between the clouds that are painted in shades of orange, red and yellow. The sight is the most beautiful thing he has ever seen, but he changes his mind when he looks back at the man holding him, the sight of his eyes shining with happiness, lips curled into a smile as the sun reflects on his pale skin is ethereal and Felix understands why people would lose their souls for demons, he thinks that he too, would gladly give his soul if t means that he can see the other like this.
When it starts getting dark, Hyunjin takes them back, landing smoothly in front of his cottage before lowering Felix to the ground, he has to hold on his broad shoulders for a moment, as his legs refuse to hold his weight, but it doesn’t matter, he feels elated anyway, he looks up at the demon, face split into a smile so big that his cheeks hurt
“Thank you, it was beautiful.”
Hyunjin blinks back at him once then twice, he looks away before his dark eyes fix back on the healer.
“Anytime.”
Felix wonders if he’s trespassing a limit with the kiss that he presses against his cheek, but he just sees a stunned look on the others face before he’s rushing inside his cottage, cheeks burning and heart hammering.
・✧･ﾟ: *✧* :ﾟ･✧ ・