Chapter Text
Neon bruised the sky outside Aki’s apartment.
“I want to kiss you. But I don’t want to kill you.”
Aki rubbed his thumb against the cigarette filter, watching the slow drip of melted ice cream mark Angel’s palm. The sweetness slid down to his wrist, catching faint reflections from the TV’s blue light - a tiny, human imperfection on something that should not have been human at all.
“You’re bleeding chocolate.” Aki said tiredly, as if every word had to make it past a decade of exhaustion.
Angel followed the trail with his eyes.
“Guess I am.” He licked the drop away. For some reason, that small motion looked impossibly erotic.
The cigarette ember pulsed. A false sunrise which gave Aki an unexpected idea.
“I don’t care if my life shortens even more. But if you don’t want it… There’s a way to kiss without touching.”
Angel looked up.
“How?”
“Open your mouth.”
The demon obeyed, parting his lips slightly.
Aki brought the cigarette close to his own lips, inhaled deeply, eyes half‑lidded, then leaned in. Angel leaned forward until there was nothing but a few millimetres of air between them - the kind that smelled faintly of tobacco and ice cream and despair. Aki exhaled slowly; the smoke finding Angel’s mouth like a whisper of dream that would never come true. It wasn’t a kiss. It was the sharing of what the world had left them with - desire, heat, decay.
Smoke clawed at his throat on the way down. Angel tasted Aki’s silenced confessions - raw loneliness, gnawing guilt, a fragile thread of exhausted love. As he exhaled, that fleeting warmth scattered into the uncaring shadows.
“See?” Aki said gently. “No one dies.”
Angel wanted to believe him. But the truth lingered heavier than the smoke - part of them had already begun to die the instant they started pretending not to love each other.
“Can you undress?” Angel’s voice trembled. He was ashamed of wanting something beautiful in such a grim world. “I want to see your body.”
For a moment, Aki didn’t move. He only listened to the faint street noise - a siren somewhere, tires hissed over wet asphalt - life continuing in miniature beyond their walls. Then he sighed, stubbed out his cigarette, and stood up.
When his shirt fell, the cold came to claim him first. Then it was Angel’s gaze. The light revealed him in fragments - collarbone, ribs, the soft shadow of abs. Every line of him was elegant, touched by pain, exhaustion, and melancholy, yet somehow still graceful. He was beautiful the way morning fog is beautiful - doomed to vanish when touched.
“You’re so lean…”
Aki looked down, his hair falling into his eyes.
“I guess I disappoint people even at that.” He answered, smiling thinly.
Angel shook his head.
“No. I didn’t mean it like that. You’re perfect. You look…gorgeous.”
The young hunter let out a laugh that died almost as soon as it began. He stepped closer and reached out. This time Angel didn’t stop him. His fingers brushed just above the slender wrist, careful not to touch skin, just tracing phantom warmth.
“Your turn.”
Angel’s fingers moved slowly over the buttons, and the fabric parted with a whisper. Blue light bathed his form in fragility: the hollow dip between his ribs, the pale gleam of his chest, the shadows of wings behind his back.
Aki’s eyes followed every motion - the glide of fingers, the quiet rhythm of breath, the faint flicker of light on bone and shadow. A dream made flesh, yearning to be cherished, kissed… yet forever beyond reach, no matter the ache of desire.
For a moment, neither spoke.
“Beautiful...” Aki swallowed hard. “You actually look otherworldly.”
“Then maybe we’re equal.”
Angel’s wings trembled with a fragile quiver, their feathers whispering through the dim room like autumn leaves caught in a fleeting wind.
“You’re already aroused.”
The wings brush closer, stirring a shiver along Aki’s skin.
“I am.”
Angel laughed softly.
“That’s what makes us equals as well.”
The stilled moment broke only when he reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of black gloves. Aki understood instantly. He opened the drawer beside the futon and drew out his own pair.
They put them on together. Even the act of covering their hands felt sacred, intimate in itself: that closeness always came with conditions.
When their palms finally met, fabric to fabric. Angel’s hand trembled at first, then steadied beneath Aki’s, their palms studying each other’s like two ghosts learning how to be human again.
“You’re warm.”
Aki gave a small, helpless smile.
“So are you.”
Outside, the city kept breathing - a passing car, a dog barking, the rustle of wind through late‑night rain. Inside, time seemed to slow until even the television’s flicker synchronised with their pulse.
“If this is all we get,” Angel murmured, “Then I don’t want anything realer.”
And Aki, still touching him through the fragile shield of cloth, whispered back:
“We can be careful. There are ways. We can use condoms. If you don’t want to bottom, you can fuck me. I don’t mind.”
Angel shook his head. His hand rose, touching Aki’s cheek.
“I’ve never tried it, but I’m not scared of bottoming. And I know about condoms. But if we accidentally touch or it falls off… I can’t risk it.”
Aki lowered his eyes. “I don’t care about the risks. I’ve been dying in smaller ways for years.”
“That’s exactly why I can’t let you. I’ve already taken too much from the world.”
“You don’t want me?”
Angel laughed. Aki stood frozen, undone by the sight of him: he doubled over, wings trembling with the sheer force of it, his face alight in a joy so pure it felt so impossibly alive.
“I never wanted anyone so badly.” The tender crimson bloomed from his cheeks, trailing fire down his neck to bare chest.
“Then what are we supposed to do with all this wanting?”
“I don’t know. Not without risking your life.”
Aki brushed the back of his hand along the other’s cheek, and for a moment, that single motion felt more intimate than any skin-to-skin touch could ever be.
Angel leaned into it, his eyes fluttering shut.
“You make me feel human.”
“You love that feeling?”
“I love you.”
That confession stilled the air itself. Aki's palm froze, still cradling the curve of Angel's face. The city's drone filtered in: distant sirens wailing, wind rattling the windowpane, filling the silence where words dissolved.
“You shouldn’t.” Aki murmured finally.
“I tried not to. I failed.”
“You don’t know what you’re loving - half of me’s already gone.”
“That’s the half I fell for,” Angel replied without hesitation. His voice trembled, but his gaze didn’t. “The part that still fights to live even as it dies.”
Their gloves alone kept hands apart, close enough to share warmth, distant enough to endure.
“I don’t know how to love you safely.” Aki whispered.
“Then don’t. Just love me.”
“How many seconds of touching you will take ten days of my life?”
“Five.”
“Good. Then count.”
Both gloved hands cupped Angel’s face, tracing the curve of his jaw with reverent care. Angel leaned in, closing his eyes. Their breaths mingled first - tobacco, sugar, and exhaustion woven intimate - before their lips met, soft as a dream. The kiss burnt through fear, past any ledger of loss; Angel tasted of cold plum blossom, like the memory of spring warmth rather than the thing itself.
Angel gasped faintly against him, a fractured word dying unspoken - “five.”
Aki deepened the kiss, not with hunger, but surrender. And when he pulled back, his lover’s eyes were wet, his lips parted, as if he was trying to remember how to breathe.
“That was…” Angel’s lashes trembled slightly, his cheeks flushed pink. “You…”
“I want you,” Aki breathed hotly. “Please, touch me…”
Angel’s gloved fingers hesitated, then slid down Aki’s bare collarbone. His touch was tender, gentle, deliberate as a master’s brushstroke on washi.
Fingers lingered, mapping the hollow of his throat, and Aki exhaled sharply, his body arching into the contact as if chasing the warmth Angel couldn’t give.
“More.” Aki rasped, eyes half-lidded, the flush on his cheeks deepened, painting him fragile and fevered. His own gloved hands drew Angel’s waist nearer - not enough for their naked chests to touch but close enough to feel each other’s warmth. The devil’s fingers trailed lower, trembling slightly, over the subtle ridges of Aki’s ribs.
“You’re burning.” Angel whispered in awe.
Aki tipped his head back, baring his throat. “Then cool me down.”
His words dissolved into a low moan as Angel’s hand splayed across his chest, pressing flat over the erratic thump of his heart. A touch that promised everything while stealing nothing from him.
Their mouths found each other again, unhurried this time, lips parting in quiet surrender; tongues traded desire, smoke, and forbidden sweetness. Angel’s thumb stroked Aki’s pulse point, measuring life even as it ebbed.
Gasping apart, “How much time did it take?” Aki asked.
Angel smiled faintly, sadly.
“Twenty-five days.” His breath ghosted his lover’s ear: “Lie down with me.”
They sank together onto the futon, gloves gliding over thighs, hips, and the vulnerable curve of spines. Aki’s hand dipped to trace Angel’s hipbone through fabric, drawing a soft, broken moan that vibrated between them.
“You know…” Aki blushed. “If you want to try… I have sex toys. We can do it together, without touching…”
“I never did it before…” Angel replied quietly. “Not like this.”
“I know. I don’t do it very often myself. I’ll go first. Do you want to try?”
“I do.”
Aki's fingers trembled as they grazed the drawer beside the futon and drew forth the small vibrator.
Angel watched as Aki surrendered to the rumpled sheets. Latex gloves whispered against his skin as he traced the toy downward, over the lean hollows of his stomach, breaching the waistband. A single hitch of breath escaped him before he pressed the humming device to his arousal through the thin fabric.
The toy's vibration thrummed faintly against Aki's clothed need, swallowed by the sound of their breathing. His hips rose in a faint, futile arch, seeking pressure that never quite arrived. Not enough to bring him relief, just enough to make his toes curl.
Angel’s gaze burnt hotter than touch ever could, following the desperate swallow that rippled Aki's throat, stifling a whimper that echoed in the hollow of his chest.
"Like this?" Angel murmured as he lifted his own hand to press tentative fingers against his lower belly.
Aki nodded, lips blooming around a trembling sigh. His abdomen fluttered like moth wings in lantern glow.
The toy drifted lower, its hum now kissing his perineum. Angel's fingers twitched against Aki's hip.
"Can you... put it inside?" The question splintered like thin ice under hesitant steps. He was embarrassed to share his desires but too aroused to stop himself.
Aki's exhale sharpened through flared nostrils, the vibrator faltering in his grasp. His free hand found Angel's wrist. He wanted to touch him. To hold him. To feel.
"Yeah…" he breathed, "But you'll have to- Uh… Wait!”
Aki shed the remnants of his clothing, with a fluid wave of his hand gesturing his lover to mirror him.
As they undressed, Angel's fingers closed around the toy, latex knuckles grazing Aki's bare stomach in a spark that jolted through them both like distant lightning. With excruciating leisure, Angel urged the toy downward.
Aki's thighs tensed, and devil’s hold firmed as the toy delved deeper, its buzz teasing Aki's most sensitive hollows - a simple, erotic caress that wrenched his hips upward. A ragged breath tore free, his fingers digging into the futon as Angel guided the toy down. Aki’s lips parted around a silent plea, his thighs trembling as the tip of the vibrator pressed just where he needed it.
"Stop." The young hunter breathed, making his lover look at him in surprise with his big, luminous eyes that reminded him of the forest lakes reflecting endless autumn skies. "This one's for you. It’s your first time... so I'll use the bigger one."
Angel nodded.
Aki delved into the drawer for a larger toy and a bottle of lube. Angel gazed, entranced, at Aki's beautiful form - tall and lean, his long, elegant legs spread vulnerably. Tender, pale skin was marred by faint scars like cracks in porcelain. They didn’t taint his beauty even slightly.
Slender fingers gleamed with lube as they circled his entrance, teasing himself with slow, deliberate pressure. Aki’s breath stuttered; the middle finger's tip breached him, just barely - his body resisting for a heartbeat before yielding. The stretch burnt sweetly, his thighs trembled as he worked the digit deeper before adding another one. Fingers vanished within, shallow thrusts turning whispers to moans as he crooked them, seeking the sweet spot.
Aki's breath hitched as he found it, his back arching beautifully as a loud moan left his lips. His fingers stilled, pressing deep inside him. He looked at his lover with pleading, desperately vulnerable eyes.
"Say it. Say what you want."
Angel's cheeks burnt. Words stuck, unfamiliar, dangerous on his tongue.
“I want to see you pleasure yourself." He hesitated for a moment. "And I want you to watch me doing the same."
Aki’s breath hitched as his fingers once again brushed the spot that made his vision whiten at the edges. He bit his lip, dragging heavy-lidded eyes to Angel's.
"Watch me," he whispered. "Then do it just like this."
His finger curled again, deeper this time, and a full-body shudder wracked him. The lube-slick sound was obscenely loud between them.
Angel's throat bobbed as he echoed the motion, two gloved fingers pressing tentatively to himself. He stopped as he felt a sudden, unfamiliar spark of pleasure, dragging in a delicious friction that drew a small whimper from his throat - so unlike the smooth glide of Aki's lubed fingers working himself open beside him.
Aki observed through slitted eyes, his own rhythm slowing as Angel tensed.
"Breathe." He murmured. "You're clenching."
The devil shuddered, forcing his muscles to relax as his lover’s free hand found his wrist again. He exhaled shakily, letting Aki guide his movements - slower now, more deliberate; the way Aki's thumb rubbed circles against his pulse point kept him anchored.
"Like this," Aki murmured, his slender fingers still working himself open. "Don't rush."
Angel swallowed hard as he pressed deeper; the stretch unfurled into a keen, searing bloom, sharp as winter's first frost etching fragile glass.
"Please... put it in." He breathed desperately, nodding towards the toy. "I want to see it..."
Aki shifted onto hands and knees, aligned the toy, and lowered himself onto it. The tip breaching his rim with a delicious burn, making the youth close his eyes and bite his lip.
"Hnnn..." He halted midway, trembling slightly as his body adjusted to the stretch.
Angel’s gaze was tracing the elegant arc of Aki’s spine - trembling in fragile poise like a willow branch; toes curling into the futon; full bottom lip caught fierce between teeth as he took the toy inch by inch.
A sharp gasp tore from Aki's lips as the thickest part stretched him. Fingers clawed the sheets so hard his knuckles turned white, as he forced himself to relax just enough to take the rest. A full-body tremor seized him when it finally seated inside him fully.
"F-fuck…" Aki whimpered.
His back bowed beautifully, muscles taut with effort, sweat tracing silvery paths along his spine like tears on porcelain.
An exhale escaped as he rocked backward, the toy shifting inside him with a slick, sinful drag. His thighs trembled as he rose slightly, only to sink back down with a broken moan. The stretch bordered on unbearable, but the sharp pleasure lancing up his spine kept him moving, slow and steady.
He glided upon the silicone shaft, gaze locking onto Angel's - icy blue depths of his eyes blown wide with lust. His hips moved in deliberate, vulgar rhythm, making the toy hit his sweet spot with each descent. A bead of sweat traced the sharp line of Aki’s collarbone, his lips parting around a moan. His fingers gouged the futon, knuckles ghostly pale as he arched into the next thrust, the stretch bordering on pain before dissolving into blissful pleasure.
He stilled suddenly. The toy buried deep inside him, thighs trembling with the effort of holding himself up.
"Now you." He panted, nodding to the smaller vibrator. "Put it in. Slowly - just like I did."
Angel’s throat tightened, pulse thundering like distant festival drums in his ears. His fingers hovered uncertainly over the toy before curling around it. The lube was cool against his skin as he coated the tip. Hesitating slightly, he aligned the slick toy to his own entrance. His fingers trembled as he pushed forward, the initial resistance giving way to a slow, burning stretch that stole the air from his lungs. A whimper caught in his throat as he sank deeper, his body clenching instinctively around the intrusion before forcing himself to relax.
Aki looked at him with lust, hips rolling indolently on his own toy, each shift wringing a muted gasp from bite-swollen lips.
"That's it…" He murmured. "Just- ahh- just like this."
Angel's hips bucked as the toy breached him wholly, a soft moan broke free when base kissed skin, his wings unfolding behind him, but he didn’t notice. His thighs trembled violently - every nerve singing - as he fought the instinct to clench down, forcing himself to breathe through the overwhelming stretch. Aki’s gaze burnt into him, watching with unhidden desire as Angel’s gloved hand drifted shakily to his own hip, fingers squeezing the tender flesh there as he adjusted to the intrusion.
"Move.” Aki urged. His own rhythm stuttered as he lifted himself almost completely off his toy, only to sink back down, gasping softly.
Angel obeyed with a shuddering moan, rocking forward tentatively - each slow movement hurling pleasure sparks up his spine like tiny fireworks. His feathers trembled softly - cherry blossoms in a cold morning haze.
“Fuck…”
The drag was burning, toy pulling almost completely out before he pressed back down, his body yielding inch by slick inch. A whimper escaped him as the stretch burnt brighter, his thighs quivering with the effort to keep his movements slow, controlled.
“Good.” Aki whispered. “You’re so beautiful, oh god...”
Angel's palm trembled above his lover’s hip. Latex tips ghosted skin with a single brush before curling into a fist and pulling back.
"I'm sorry-“ His voice was cracking as he rocked onto the toy again, his movements jerky with lust and desperation. "I just need to touch you-“
Aki’s breath caught in his throat, his rhythm stumbling as he watched Angel’s exquisite struggle, drinking in the silent plea in every arch and gasp.
Gloved hand curled around Angel’s throbbing length, and his wings spasmed, half-lifting as if yearning to carry him away, yet pinned by the weight of arousal. Fighting back the desire to cum, he mirrored the gesture on Aki in an instant.
“Oh, God…”
Aki's hips lurched into the clasp, his nails almost shredding sheets as white-hot ecstasy lanced his spine. Angel's thumb circled the weeping tip, smearing precum.
Aki's spine arched as devil’s grip tightened. Every pull of his fist unleashed shocks of ecstasy rippling through him, making him tremble and moan. The toy inside him shifted with each ragged thrust forward, the dual stimulation wrenching broken cries from his throat.
Angel’s own movements grew erratic, his hips stuttering as he fucked himself onto the toy in shallow, desperate rolls. Aki’s fingers curled around Angel’s cock, grip slick and unyielding as he mirrored each stroke, rhythms entwined in fevered vulnerability. The latex’s textured bite raked overheated skin, every pull coaxing shuddering gasps from their lips. Hips bucked wildly, a mutual plea for friction, for the merciless pleasure of release. Angel’s breath fractured into ragged pants, his gloved hand clamping tighter around Aki’s length - just as Aki twisted his wrist on the upstroke, ripping desperate moans from both their throats.
Angel’s climax struck like lightning - his back arching, cock pulsing wildly in his lover’s grip as thick ropes of cum striped Aki’s heaving chest in hot, glistening streaks. Sweat beaded on his brow, mingling with the faint shimmer of his halo, and his wings beat once against the air in surrender, folding protectively around their shuddering bodies as climax crested, leaving him spent, wings limp and draped like wilted silk over the futon.
His gloved fingers clamped reflexively around Aki’s throbbing length, and the youth’s hips stuttered in answer; release tore through him in a loud, beautiful cry that echoed through the room. Cum splashed hot across Angel’s trembling stomach, adorning his soft skin with milky-white trails.
Aki couldn’t stop. Didn’t want to. Each throb of his cock was milking forth another pearly burst, as his hands scrabbled into the sheets with desperate fervour.
***
Dawn's tender light seeped through the blinds, draping Aki's apartment in muted grays. The air clinged thick with love, cigarette smoke and the sweetness of abandoned ice cream, pooling on the table like spilt desire. All night, they've skirted the edge - gloved touches, murmured confessions, shared moments of pure euphoria.
Aki's breath hitched as he drew Angel closer again, his fingers delving deep into silken hair, tugging with reverent hunger.
"Just once more."
Angel's vermilion eyes opened wide, torn between surrender, lust, and fear. Their mouths met again, tongues entwining with tender sweetness. The fragile spell lingered, Aki's gloved hand cupping Angel's neck as seconds stretched into eternity.
Angel pulled away first, a thin thread of saliva lingering between their lips, glistening faintly in the dim light.
"Stop…” He whispered. Guilt etched his beautiful face. “Over a month now - forty-seven days taken from you, stolen in every brush and kiss I've permitted."
Aki's faint smile lingered, gloved thumb ghosting Angel's jaw.
"Worth every second." He murmured, stealing one last ghost-kiss as sunlight spilt fully across them - two lovers entwined in quiet devotion, choosing the burn of now over the sorrow of tomorrow.
After he slays the Gun Devil, Aki will spend his final minutes kissing Angel. It won't last. Love rarely lasted in this merciless world. Tokyo would breathe on. Dawn would flicker over rooftops and smoldering cigarette stubs. But in a room thick with tobacco and the faint, cloying sweetness of melted ice cream, two souls who should never have touched had crossed an unbridgeable line: they had made each other inescapably real.
***
"Damn, that's so fucking gay..." Power hissed, clamping a hand over Denji's mouth. “It’s hot!”
They've been hunkered in the kitchen for fifteen minutes or so, pretending not to hear the sounds of love confessions and kisses from Aki's room.
"You think they did more than just kissing?" Denji whispered, shoving her hand away. “Damn, we should have come earlier!”
"Shh!" Power snapped. "If they catch us, we're toast. We gotta live to spill it - they're GAY!" Her last word erupted like a bomb, echoing beyond the room to half the building.
"You stupid idiot!" Denji growled at her. "Why are you yelling? You want them to kick our asses or something?"
"You're both morons." Aki drawled wearily, materialising in the doorway. "I was gonna-“
"Did you fuck the twink?" Power interrupted him.
"Why hide you're gay?" Denji piled on. "But to be honest, I clocked it ages ago. I’m not dumb."
Aki rolled his eyes, his face flushed with shame.
"You're dead. Both of you! Get over here!"
Cups, a plant pot, and an empty beer bottle were hurled toward the cackling friends.
"C'mon, man, no biggie! Spill, did you do something? How was it?" Denji ducked another flying flower, grinning.
"You son of a-“
Angel sighed from the futon, his bare skin bathed in the honeyed sunlight.
“I suppose ice cream will have to wait.”