Work Text:
Donghyuck remembers the day he met Lee Jeno as if it was yesterday.
In truth it’s been a year already, but Jeno has completely turned his whole world upside down since then, so Donghyuck has taken to keeping every memory with the demon close to his heart.
They met through Yangyang, Donghyuck’s fairy friend who had insisted he go to a party with him. Donghyuck had been hesitant at first, the thought of ruining a perfectly peaceful Friday night with partying while he could just stay inside and finish his essay sounded horrible, but Yangyang had been persistent. And convincing.
And Donghyuck had gone to the party.
He still hasn’t properly thanked Yangyang for the hidden favour he had done Donghyuck that night.
Donghyuck had bumped into Jeno on his way out of the kitchen, his beer ending up on the demon’s tight-fitted black shirt. He had apologised profoundly, more than embarrassed about making a fool of himself. Donghyuck remembers Jeno chuckling under his breath, his hold gentle on Donghyuck’s wrists as he had slowly lowered them. With a wave of Jeno’s hand, his shirt had been good as new.
Donghyuck had stared, his face heating up at forgetting that such a thing as celestial magic existed. His mouth had opened and closed repeatedly, at a loss for words. The fact that Jeno was still watching him with barely concealed amusement did nothing but fuel his embarrassment and the blush overtaking his face.
“It’s alright,” Jeno had said that night, willing to try and save Donghyuck from his misery, “it happens a lot. I picked up a few things on those Magix classes.”
Donghyuck hadn’t seen Jeno in any of his Magix classes before. He told him as such.
“You sit at the front,” Jeno had replied, a new emotion twinkling in his eyes, “I sit toward the back. Professor Yoon’s voice puts me to sleep almost every time without fail.”
Donghyuck had snorted at the words, his hand rising to his mouth to cover the sound. Jeno’s eyes had crinkled at the corners with his subtle smile. It felt wrong to laugh along to a jab made at one of his most favourite professors but Jeno was cute, charismatic, and funny.
He just had to laugh.
Jeno kept cracking jokes for the rest of the night, him and Donghyuck choosing to stay close to the sidelines, away from the dance floor and the sweaty bodies winding their way through one another. Jeno had smiled the whole night, his eyes turned into crescent moons, his posture relaxed as he leaned on the wall, his membranous bat-like wings folded against his back.
He had talked with Donghyuck throughout the whole night, until Yangyang had drunkenly texted him and told him that they should probably go home because he was too fucked up and couldn’t dance anymore.
When Donghyuck had glanced at the hour he had come to the shocking realisation that it was almost three a.m. After telling Jeno that he should go because his roommate wanted to leave, the demon had offered to drive them back to their dorm. Donghyuck contemplated it for a moment, aware that Jeno hadn’t had a sip of anything alcoholic for many hours, before he had reluctantly denied the offer, saying that he’d call a taxi.
Jeno had helped him guide Yangyang out of the house the party was being hosted at. He stayed by Donghyuck’s side until the taxi arrived and then he helped him put Yangyang in the backseat before waving goodbye at him.
Donghyuck’s first meeting with Jeno had led him to mistakenly believe that Jeno was an outgoing, extroverted guy. He had, after all, no reason to believe otherwise.
So anyone could imagine his surprise when he walked into his Magix class on the following Monday morning, his eyes doing a quick sweep across the room only to land on a Jeno who looked to be in a much different mood than the one during the night of the party.
Jeno startles, snapping out of his half-conscious state when someone slides into the seat next to him. A seat always left unoccupied.
Donghyuck’s sunny smile greets him when he glances to his right. Jeno has to drowsily blink a few times in order to convince himself that it’s not just his imagination conjuring up the angel like it’s done multiple times in the past, and that the angel himself is actually sitting next to him.
By his own free will too.
“Hi!” Donghyuck greets him with an enthusiastic half-wave. Jeno blinks again. He wonders if Donghyuck’s always this happy to see other people at eight in the morning. “I’m Donghyuck! We met at the party on Friday. You said you always sit at the back during this class and when I came in today I saw you and decided to sit here. It’s fine if it bothers you, I can just go back to my regular seat too, no problem! I don’t even know if you remember me, to be honest—”
“I do,” Jeno cuts off the other’s rambling. Donghyuck’s mouth clicks shut with an audible sound, his face heating up as he too realises how fast he was speaking and how much he was saying. There’s surprise lining every inch of Donghyuck’s face and Jeno clears his throat, shifting in his seat a bit. “I do remember you, and it’s fine, don’t worry. You can sit here.”
“Great!” Donghyuck softly cheers, any traces of his previous embarrassment completely wiped off clean from his face. His smile gives him slight dimples, his happiness makes his eyes crinkle at the corners but they don’t disappear like Jeno’s do when he smiles. Instead the chocolate brown of his irises stay fixated on Jeno, twinkling, a bit of gold shining amongst the brown.
“Great,” Jeno echoes quieter but just as genuinely. Donghyuck is so… bright and cheerful and he makes a happy noise at the back of his throat as he inches closer to Jeno, reaching in his bag to take out his things. Jeno folds his wings a bit tighter to himself, unwilling to make the other one uncomfortable. Nobody usually sits next to Jeno, so he hasn’t had the problem of minding how much space they take before. During this class at least.
“It’s okay,” Donghyuck says with a glance toward his wings when they twitch a bit in discomfort. “I don’t mind them, you can stretch them toward the back if you want.”
Jeno looks at him with uncertainty, his wings twitching again. Donghyuck glances at him again when he doesn’t feel any movement or breeze of the wind caused by the motion of Jeno’s wings. He gives Jeno a look when he notices his hesitation.
“I wouldn’t say that it’s fine if I wasn’t sure about it, Jeno-ya.”
Jeno dips his head in a small nod. His wings stretch out from their tight position at his back, settling behind the empty seat on his left and the back of Donghyuck’s seat on his right. Donghyuck doesn’t say anything but there’s a slight upwards curl to the corners of his lips when Jeno shifts his eyes toward him.
Professor Yoon clears his throat from his place at the front of the room, cutting off whatever Jeno was thinking of saying. Their professor starts his lecture on transfiguring an object to something else once he sees that he’s gotten everyone’s attention.
Jeno looks at Donghyuck from the corner of his eye, noticing the lack of wings. He already knows that Donghyuck’s an angel, having caught sight of his pristine white wings on their first day during the start of the year at the academy. It’s not his place to ask though, about why Donghyuck doesn’t let them out in the open and instead chooses to magix them away. It must take the brunette a lot of willpower and concentration to be able to do it for so many hours every day while also making it look so effortless.
Donghyuck must have his reasons. Jeno won’t be the disrespectful guy who asks about them.
Jeno isn’t how Donghyuck initially thought he was. At all.
Not that it’s a bad thing, it’s just surprising.
Jeno doesn’t talk much and when he does it’s only because someone asks him something or because he feels the need to defend a choice he has made. He smiles a lot but it’s never a big smile, much more reserved than the way he had smiled at Donghyuck during their first meeting. His eyes don’t turn into crescent moons with this type of smile.
Jeno, as Donghyuck learns within a week of getting to know him, also gets into a lot of fights.
It doesn't matter over what, with who or where. Jeno’s temper is as short as a bull's; fitting since Donghyuck first found out that his zodiac sign is Taurus.
Jeno fights with others more than he talks, which would be concerning if Donghyuck didn't know that he wins every single fight. It’s still concerning, in a way, because Jeno gets hurt regardless of winning the fight, but at least Donghyuck doesn't have to worry about some fragile ego he'd have to soothe if Jeno ended up being a sore loser.
Jeno gets hurt a lot because of fighting and then he always ends up in front of Donghyuck's dorm room, knocking on the door and looking at Donghyuck with a blank expression when he pulls it open.
Even now, a year after their first time meeting, as Donghyuck pulls his door open, he can’t do anything but fondly sigh at the sight of Jeno with his bloody and bruised knuckles. Donghyuck takes notice of a bruise forming on the demon’s jaw and speckled blood on his temple from where he must have fallen down somewhere.
He moves to the side to let Jeno pass into his dorm. Tomorrow he’ll have to go find the person Jeno beat up and apologise for the demon’s behaviour, but for now he has other things to worry about.
Donghyuck can't stop staring at him as the demon toes off his shoes by his front door, barely wincing with his movements, not a single sign of any pain present on his face.
Donghyuck really doesn't want to guess what state the person he's fought with is in.
A membranous wing nudges closer to him and Donghyuck very, very carefully, his fingertips feather-light with their touch, traces over the edge of it. Jeno gives a barely noticeable shiver but he glances sidelong at Donghyuck from the corner of his eye as he meticulously uses his psychic powers to unlatch the straps of his jacket at his back, allowing him to slip it off without bothering his wings.
Donghyuck smiles back at the look, small and playful. He twists on his heel and heads for the kitchen, confident that Jeno will dutifully follow after him.
He's proven right when his ears pick up the near-silent footsteps behind him, Jeno so close that he's acting like his shadow.
Donghyuck stops in the middle of his kitchen. Him and Jeno are almost nose-to-nose when he turns around to face him.
“Go sit down on the sofa, I'll make some tea.”
“I don't want tea,” Jeno rumbles back, his voice raspy. Donghyuck frowns, ready to open his mouth and argue back but Jeno shrugs half-heartedly before he can even think of his words. “You can make tea later.”
Donghyuck's mouth clicks shut with an audible sound.
He's pouting just slightly, he's aware of it, his eyes narrowed up at Jeno. The demon stares back without blinking.
Donghyuck's eyes start watering but he holds the other’s gaze for as long as he can before he's forced to blink. When his eyes open again, Jeno's have turned completely black, the white disappearing with it.
Donghyuck shudders at the sight, momentarily sinking inwards into himself as a sick sort of thrill gathers at the bottom of his belly.
Jeno's head tilts, his nostrils flaring as his eyes flicker back to their warm, dark brown. Donghyuck bristles at the look of smug satisfaction on his face.
“Go sit down, Jeno-yah.”
The demon retaliates with a low grunt. “Come with me.”
Donghyuck gathers air in his mouth, his cheeks filling before he blows out a long, frustrated breath. Jeno's gaze lingers a bit too long at his puckered lips for Donghyuck to ignore.
“If anyone saw you looking at me like that, they'd assume the worst.”
Jeno's eyes snap up to his. Donghyuck, not for the first time since he’s gotten to know Jeno, wishes he had the ability to keep his mouth shut. He had never wished for it before meeting Jeno – never gave a second thought to what bullshit he’d spew out to rile someone else up, but things are different with Jeno.
Jeno is the only person who’d ever be able to put Donghyuck in his place. A feat nobody’s been able to accomplish before.
“Go sit down,” Donghyuck draws out the last syllable, begging without being willing to admit it.
“Come with me,” Jeno imitates his tone, the demon uncharacteristically cute with the way he tugs at Donghyuck’s hoodie sleeve.
The touch reminds Donghyuck of the first time it had ever happened and how he had flinched away, how Jeno had profoundly apologised for making him uncomfortable. A bit of the Jeno he had met during the party had slipped through at that moment, the demon looking at him with worry about the slightest possibility of him being in distress. Donghyuck had waved it off, his laugh stuck in his throat as he tried to shake off the goosebumps that had risen all over his skin with the touch. He had to take several breaths and remind himself that it wasn’t Jeno’s fault, that he didn’t know, that Donghyuck had never told him that he didn’t like being touched without permission first.
They’ve come a long way.
Now, Jeno tugs at his sleeve, his grip sure, his hand warm where it brushes against Donghyuck. The angel keeps in his shudder, lets himself be dragged out of the kitchen and towards the sofa with nothing more than a whine and a stomp of his foot on his carpeted floor.
“Jeno-yahhh.”
“Donghyuck-ah,” Jeno replies, some of his earlier amusement coming back to his face. It’s a very pretty face. Very pretty. Jeno has beautiful, dark eyes and the most perfect nose. His eyelashes brush his cheeks with every blink and Donghyuck will forever be jealous of his moles – as if he doesn’t have any himself.
Jeno has very pink, pouty, pretty lips. They look so soft, Donghyuck has often wondered if they’d feel as soft too were he ever to kiss him. Donghyuck wants to kiss him. A lot. He thinks about it all the time, no matter where they are or the situation they’re in. Just one glance at Jeno’s lips is enough to send Donghyuck’s thoughts swirling, always going down the same rabbit hole.
Donghyuck wants to kiss Jeno. Would Jeno kiss him back?
“Donghyuck-ah,” The gentle call of his name has him snapping out of his thoughts.
Donghyuck takes a deep breath when he comes back to the present, Jeno’s body very real and warm and close to his. The proximity would have made him cringe away, if it were anybody else, and even though it still does make something that suspiciously feels like discomfort lodge itself in-between Donghyuck’s lungs, he doesn’t let it deter him, doesn’t let it force him to move away from Jeno.
It had taken him—them—a long time to get to this. A lot of practise. Hours spent together in each other’s dorm rooms, crammed together at a table in the library, pressed close at a table in a restaurant with the rest of their friends. Jeno taking the initiative, raising his hand each time in Donghyuck’s line of sight and slowly inching it closer, giving plenty of time for Donghyuck’s fight or flight response to kick in, enough time to let him calmly decide which one he wanted to settle on.
It had taken a lot of time.
But Jeno, deep down in his core, despite his nature—proving every so-called supernatural scientist out there wrong—was a very patient man.
And Donghyuck will always be grateful for it.
“Sit down,” the angel says, his hands light as he puts them on Jeno’s shoulders and slightly presses downwards, urging him to take a seat.
“I won’t if you don’t.”
“You have to sit down first for me to do that, you know?”
“Plenty of space on the sofa. Don’t know why we can’t just sit down together at the same time.”
“Yeah, yeah, such a fun game, Jeno-yah, but I have to go get my first aid kit to take care of you, mister,” Donghyuck rolls his eyes, an accusatory finger tapping against Jeno’s chest.
It’s a very solid chest. Donghyuck pulls his finger back before he can let the thought linger. Before he gives in to the impulse of—oh, he doesn’t know, most likely squeeze Jeno’s pec or something.
“You could just magix it away,” Jeno says, an amused tilt to the corner of his lips.
“You know what–” Donghyuck huffs, giving up on his attempts to make Jeno sit down. The demon is like an unmovable object and Donghyuck is too tired for this shit anyways. “You can’t just magix away every single one of your problems. That was one of Professor Yoon’s lessons, in case you’ve forgotten.”
“Mmm, I don’t really pay attention in class,” Jeno murmurs.
Donghyuck fakes a shocked gasp, “Oh my moons! Really? If you hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t have had a single clue about you slacking off, Jeno-yah.”
“Ha, ha,” Jeno mocks, his tone playful. He finally sits down, the movement so sudden that Donghyuck stumbles forward a bit because he was still holding onto his shoulders.
Jeno stabilises him with his hands moving to grasp at his hips.
Donghyuck doesn’t mean to freeze up but it happens against his own free will. A fight or flight response and he wants to choose to fight. He wants to let it happen. He wants to enjoy it. It’s just that it’s out of his control and he doesn’t know how to put it back under his control. Donghyuck wants to fight against the discomfort more than anything because this is not some random stranger that saw him out on the street one day and decided it’d be fine to come up to him and try to touch him or his wings—without permission, just because they had fallen under the appearance effect of his angel nature. This is Jeno and Jeno hasn’t even seen his wings yet, other than that one glimpse he had gotten at the orientation during their first year.
Jeno hasn’t seen his wings for more than one second and he still has never asked Donghyuck to show them to him. Jeno doesn’t look at him and see an angel, otherworldly and beautiful and deserving of everything. Jeno looks at him and sees him, Lee Donghyuck, a son, a brother, a friend. Jeno holds him accountable for his actions and doesn’t make excuses for him because he’s an angel and can’t do anything wrong.
This is fine. They’ve worked on this. They’ve talked countless times about it. Donghyuck likes Jeno, he wants to be touched by Jeno. He only wishes that his brain and heart could be in sync when it comes to this.
“Hyuckie,” softly murmured by the other man and Donghyuck takes a deep breath. He counts his inhales and exhales as Jeno gently, so very gently, tugs him closer by the hips, silently encouraging his limbs to move until Donghyuck comes down to straddle his lap, a knee pressed on the sofa on each side.
Donghyuck slowly sits down, the back of his thighs against the front of Jeno’s. Jeno keeps gently coaxing him out of his thoughts, words cooed with his lips pressed against the shell of Donghyuck’s ear, his touch light as he runs his hands up and down Donghyuck’s sides.
Donghyuck gradually starts melting into his embrace, his head slumping forward at one point to rest completely on his shoulder. Jeno places a kiss on his hair, keeping his face there afterwards as they breathe each other in.
“It’s fine, Hyuckie. You’re fine,” Jeno keeps repeating to him quietly. Donghyuck closes his eyes and frowns.
He’s supposed to be taking care of Jeno, not the other way around.
With that thought in his head, he pushes back a bit from Jeno’s embrace, frowning at the surprised look on the demon’s face. “Let me look at your wounds.”
Understanding dawns on Jeno and he lets Donghyuck take the distraction with a huff and a fond eye roll.
Donghyuck turns Jeno’s face to the side with a mean grip on the other’s jaw. He loosens his hold when Jeno slightly winces, his hands flexing against Donghyuck’s hips. Donghyuck’s frown deepens, moving his fingers a bit to catch sight of a slight discoloration on Jeno’s jaw.
He clicks his tongue, running a thumb over it and murmuring the healing incantation under his breath as he watches the bruise slowly but steadily disappear right before his very eyes. Donghyuck hums in satisfaction when it fully goes away, leaving nothing but the rosy-pink hue of Jeno’s skin.
He leans in and softly brushes his lips against the spot the bruise once was.
Jeno’s exhale is soft but not silent.
Donghyuck gently wraps his hand around the back of Jeno’s neck, using his grip to get a closer look at the bruising on his cheekbone and the open wound on his temple. He mumbles the healing incantation again, repeating the process of kissing the healed spot.
The wound on Jeno’s temple is a bit trickier. First, Donghyuck utters a more difficult incantation, meant to clean and sanitise the wound. Once all the blood is gone, and all that’s left in its place is just an ugly, red scratch, Donghyuck frowns.
“What happened here?” he asks, his voice quiet as his thumb gently runs over the edge of the scratch. Jeno barely winces at the touch.
“Got punched hard enough that I fell and hurt myself against the corner of the wall,” Jeno says back, his voice just as quiet. Donghyuck tsks under his breath.
“I hope you punched them back twice as hard.”
“Of course I did. Who do you take me for?”
“Aigoo,” Donghyuck snickers under his breath, his thumb slowly running over the scar as he mumbles the stitching incantation. Jeno is patient and still as he lets Donghyuck do his work. Donghyuck hums in satisfaction when he’s done, the scar gone and leaving behind a light pink mark that will fade away in a few days, “My strong Jeno-yah. I always feel bad for the people that get into fights with you.”
Jeno snorts in amusement, looking at Donghyuck from the corner of his eye.
Donghyuck smiles, his dimple making an appearance as he tilts Jeno’s head back, leaning down to rest his forehead against the demon’s. “My strong Jeno.” He repeats the words, linking his arms behind Jeno’s head.
Jeno keeps quiet, his patient gaze set on Donghyuck’s serene expression. His thumbs rub circles on Donghyuck’s hips, slipping under his shirt to lightly run over his skin. Donghyuck hums in content, holding back a shiver.
Jeno’s arms are safe around him. Donghyuck can trust him.
The demon also trusts him, which is the only reason why he’s not bothered by Donghyuck’s hands being so close to the sensitive membrane of his wings. Donghyuck’s finger lightly passes over the bone at the base of his wings, delighted with the way Jeno shudders against him but doesn’t complain about it.
“Satisfied?” Jeno asks quietly, his voice rumbling from his chest.
“Hm,” Donghyuck hums in response, his eyes glancing at the wounds he has taken care of. “Very satisfied.”
“Good,” Jeno replies, words as soft as a whisper in the wind as he keeps looking at Donghyuck. The angel’s lips stretch into a smile, leaning forward to rub the tip of his nose against Jeno’s.
He’s safe with Jeno. He never thought he’d get to be this safe with someone before.
Their friends don’t get it. Not entirely, at least. Not all of them.
The chemistry between Jeno and Donghyuck is undeniable, even to a stranger. Every moment of silence that they don’t need to fill with words is clear proof of their connection and their friends don’t necessarily get it.
In every history book, in every study conducted by professionals, it’s been theorised that angels and demons don’t get along. Because of differences in beliefs, lifestyles or simple contrast of personalities, they don’t tend to mix together. Angels and fallen angels are a different story completely, the latter being a changed version of the former, which means that they still harbour characteristics of them.
Jeno and Donghyuck are a good pair together. They are close and trust each other and nobody can say that they don’t care about one another’s wellbeing. It is very unusual, almost seems impossible, for a lot of people. Not that the two of them bother with other people’s opinions, to be honest, Jeno less than Donghyuck.
They don’t understand it, and that’s fine. Donghyuck tries to not care about it. Jeno genuinely doesn’t care, unapologetic about the way he treats Donghyuck. The angel is grateful for it; at least one of them is living their life without any worries.
“Y’know, it’d make a lot more sense if you were a fallen angel,” Mark tells Donghyuck one day as they’re leaving their Enchantments and Incantations class. Donghyuck frowns and gives the water dragon entity a look from the corner of his eye. “Not like, not to be mean or anything! Stop looking at me like that. It’s just weird.”
“I’d appreciate it if all of you could leave Jeno and I alone about this,” Donghyuck mumbles, his eyebrows furrowing in growing frustration. “It’s not that big of a deal. I’m sure there are also other demons and angels out there in the world that get along just fine.”
“Yeah, but you and Jeno get along better than just fine,” Mark responds. “And that’s not the only thing weird about this. You and Jeno are literally polar opposites. I don’t think I’ve seen him smile even once at anyone that isn’t you before. He’s always so grumpy and quiet, you’re not, and yet you two are inseparable. Isn’t that a tiny bit weird to you?”
“Opposites attract, Melk.” Donghyuck rolls his eyes, choosing to brush past most of Mark’s words. “Have you never heard of that before?”
“I mean, yeah, sure,” Mark sputters out, caught off guard. “Okay, I mean– dude, I don’t know, I’m just a bit worried. What if it’s a game he’s playing—”
“Don’t,” Donghyuck grits out with difficulty, his frustration reaching the roof in less than a second. Mark’s mouth snaps shut, a regretful expression overtaking his features, knowing that he’s overstepped the line. “Don’t you dare even think about that, Lee Minhyung. Ever again, you hear me? That was the first and last time you’ve had that thought in your head, okay?”
“Yep,” Mark says with a nod, the dragon scales on his cheeks shimmering light blue with the change of his emotions, showcasing his guilt. “Yeah, Hyuck. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
Donghyuck stares at him for a second, forcing himself to take deep breaths in order to calm down. It’s not Mark’s fault. He just cares and worries about him, Donghyuck knows this. Mark has been there every single time for Donghyuck when he had to deal with creeps wanting to catch a glimpse of his wings, to touch and feel if they are as soft and silky as they look. Donghyuck technically grew up with Mark and he knows that dragons tend to get protective of the people they consider part of their hoard, so it’s reasonable. It’s understandable. Doesn’t mean that Donghyuck has to accept it without creating any boundaries though.
“We should go find the others,” Donghyuck says, his voice quiet. Mark nods without adding anything, the glow of the dragon horns curling outwards from the top of his forehead dimming. His tail swishes behind him as they start walking toward the cafeteria, droopy and also a dark, gloomy blue colour.
Donghyuck stops Mark with a hand on his arm when they get to the cafeteria, before they can head to the table that their friends are already sitting on.
“Hyung,” he says with a soft smile. Mark turns to hesitantly look at him, his eyes suspiciously misty. “I know that you’re worried, and I understand why but you have nothing to worry about. Jeno makes me feel safe and happy and loved. He’s nothing like all those other people from the past, okay? Please try to understand that.”
“I will, Hyuckie,” Mark replies with a determined nod and a slight pout of his lips. The scales on his cheeks turn a light, soft orange with his embarrassment, the usual brightness returning to his horns. “And I’m sorry for saying that about Jeno. I know he’s a good guy, I just can’t help but listen to other people whisper.” He frowns, throwing a glance around the big, open room. “It won’t happen again, I promise. I’ll tell the others to drop it too.”
“Thank you,” Donghyuck breathes out with a relieved smile tugging at his lips. “Really, hyung, thank you so much.”
“Of course, Hyuckie,” Mark grins back at him. “You’ve got nothing to thank me for.”
Jeno looks at him with curiosity when Donghyuck sits down next to him, Mark settling on the seat opposite of him, right next to Renjun who he immediately turns toward and starts talking to, the garden pixie more than happy to engage with Mark, hearts in his eyes and all that.
“It’s nothing,” Donghyuck says to Jeno’s questioning look, burrowing close to his side and letting the demon fold a wing over his body. Donghyuck rests his head on Jeno’s shoulder, no shivering present or goosebumps appearing on his skin this time. Jeno hums and lets him scoot even closer, brushing his lips against the angel’s forehead.
Jeno’s hand rises to tuck Donghyuck’s hair behind his ear and Donghyuck frowns when the demon goes to retract it afterwards, reaching out to grasp his hand and examine the fresh cuts on his knuckles.
“What happened?”
“Nothing,” Jeno’s response is immediate, sighing at Donghyuck’s disbelieving glare directed toward him. “Someone just made a comment that I didn’t like and I took care of it.”
“What did they say?” Donghyuck frowns.
“It was nothing, Hyuckie, leave it,” Jeno throws his own words back at him. Donghyuck doesn’t let him get away with it, interlocking their fingers and staring at Jeno until the demon crumbles under the intensity of it. “It was just… about us. About you. I didn’t like it, and I handled it already and that’s all that matters now.”
“Oh.” Donghyuck’s frown deepens. He looks down at their hands to avoid looking at Jeno. Why can’t people just leave them alone? Why is everyone so damn obsessed with what they have between the two of them? Is it really that weird?
“Hyuckie,” Jeno mumbles, nudging his head against Donghyuck’s. “Hyuckie, look at me.”
Donghyuck bites down on his lower lip and stubbornly refuses to do so.
“Baby,” murmured softly against his ear and suddenly everything and everyone else fades away in the background, Donghyuck becoming hyper focused on Jeno’s body pressing against him, of his breath softly falling on Donghyuck’s ear, of Jeno’s wing resting over his shoulders, acting like a cocoon meant to shelter and protect him from the outside world. “Baby, please, look at me.”
Donghyuck finally does, his eyes watery and his lips downturned when he looks up at Jeno from underneath his eyelashes.
“It’s fine,” Jeno insists, his forehead pressing against Donghyuck’s, caressing Donghyuck’s cheek with his hand. “Don’t think about it. It’s fine.”
Donghyuck nods with a frown. “You should still apologise for hitting them though.”
“Like Hel I will.” Jeno scowls but it’s not directed at Donghyuck.
“I could—”
“You will do no such thing, Donghyuck. Neither of us are apologising about it.”
“Violence is not the answer—”
“It is when someone dares insult you,” Jeno says with finality.
“Let me talk,” Donghyuck huffs, a bit of annoyance creeping in.
Jeno slightly smiles and runs his thumb over Donghyuck’s cheek. “You don’t have to talk any more about this, baby. Just sit there and look pretty for me, okay?”
Donghyuck flushes red all the way up to the tips of his ears, choosing to keep quiet. Jeno’s grin is big and bright, like it always is in his presence.
Oh, Donghyuck thinks he might be in love.
“Jeno-yah, can you check if there are any chips left?”
“Sure.”
Donghyuck smiles without looking away from the pillows he’s fluffing up on the sofa. He stands in front of his TV when he’s done, controller in hand, scrolling through Netflix in search of a good movie. He ends up putting on a Studio Ghibli movie, pausing it at the very start just as Jeno wraps his arms around him from behind.
“There are those salty ones you like, but none of the spicy ones,” Jeno says, his breath softly fanning Donghyuck’s nape.
“Oh,” Donghyuck responds, brain short-circuiting for a second at the close proximity. He’s genuinely shocked with himself for not flinching at the unexpected backhug. Is it because he was already aware that Jeno’s the only other person in his apartment and he’s fine with touching the demon? Donghyuck doesn’t know. Not that he minds. “It’s fine then. We don’t need snacks.”
Jeno hums, but he doesn’t let go of him when Donghyuck tries to move. They’re forced to do a small waddle to the sofa to plop down on it, Donghyuck being unwilling to make Jeno separate from him.
Donghyuck belly laughs when they’ve sat down, happy and content to simply stay there trapped in Jeno’s embrace. Jeno presses his smile against Donghyuck’s cheek, his wings unfurling to come and rest over both of them.
They cuddle up together on the sofa, Donghyuck unpausing the movie and then making himself cosy against Jeno’s side. It’s so warm and comfortable.
Donghyuck feels loved.
He falls asleep before they get to the end of the movie. Jeno wakes him up with murmurs of his name, a hand brushing through Donghyuck’s brown strands of hair.
The angel yawns as he slightly stretches, sleepily pouting his lips as he blearily looks around before going back to smothering his face against Jeno’s neck. He was fine sleeping like that, he doesn’t want to wake up yet.
“Hyuckie,” Jeno whispers, leaning his head back to press his lips against Donghyuck’s forehead. “C’mon, baby, let’s get you to bed.”
Baby. That word again, coming from Jeno and directed to Donghyuck. He doesn’t know what to do about it. He wants to ask Jeno what it means, what does that make them. He wants Jeno to keep saying it, wants to hear it being uttered from the demon’s lips twenty-four-seven. Donghyuck wants and wants and he knows that wanting is a sin but he’ll take becoming a sinner if it means that Jeno will give to him.
“Jen,” he mumbles back, tilting his head up to pout at the demon who looks down at him with soft curiosity. “I like you. Do you like me?”
Maybe it’s the sleepiness that does the trick. Maybe it’s the close proximity and how comfortable Donghyuck feels around Jeno when he never feels comfortable around anyone, with the exception of Mark who he’s literally known his whole life. Donghyuck doesn’t know what does the trick, doesn’t know what prompted him to confess such thoughts so suddenly but he can’t find anything in him to care about it, about how much he’s just exposed to Jeno.
Donghyuck is so tired of pretending he’s not fallen head over heels. He’s so tired of running and letting his fear control him. He just wants and he thinks now’s the time to take what he wants.
Jeno keeps silent for a few seconds, making worry rise inside of Donghyuck. Any type of doubt Donghyuck might have had disappears in the next moment when Jeno smiles at him. It’s not a bright smile, but that’s not necessarily a bad sign. Jeno looks like he’s already figured out how much Donghyuck desires him. Jeno’s smile doesn’t reach his eyes but it makes warmth settle into the pit of Donghyuck’s belly regardless. The demon regards him with dark eyes, that smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
“What do you think, Hyuckie?” Jeno finally says. He pulls Donghyuck closer with an arm wrapped around his waist. “D’you think I’d call you baby if I didn’t like you?”
“I don’t know,” Donghyuck whines in response. “Can you answer the question like a normal person, please? Stop counter attacking with other questions.”
Jeno huffs through his nose, giving Donghyuck a fond eye roll. “Yes, baby, I like you too. A lot.”
“A whole lot?” Donghyuck inquires, his eyes wide and innocent as he tilts his head to the side to rest it on Jeno’s shoulder. “How much is a lot?”
He’s teasing but he wants to see Jeno’s reaction.
“Very, very much,” Jeno shakes his head with all the seriousness in the entire world. “Sooo much, it rivals Renjun’s big gigantic crush on Mark.”
Donghyuck bursts into giggles at those words, curling in on himself with his laughter as Jeno starts chuckling with him, the two of them naturally being pulled into each other’s space.
When their laughter stops they’re left staring at each other, their breathing mingling. Donghyuck gazes into Jeno’s eyes and he thinks to himself—This is it. Kiss him, Donghyuck. Kiss him.
His eyes flicker downwards at Jeno’s lips, seeing the demon do the same thing. Donghyuck inhales softly, counts down to ten in his head, Jeno as patient as ever as he lets him take his time.
“Jeno-yah,” Donghyuck murmurs, leaning forward a bit, glancing down at Jeno’s lips again before he looks back up into his eyes. “Can I— Will you—”
“Yes?” Jeno encourages him quietly when he trails off in hesitation.
“Can you, please, please, kiss me?” Donghyuck breathes out, exhaling sharply when Jeno’s hands come up to cradle his face in-between his hands.
“Of course, Hyuckie,” Jeno mumbles, his eyes fervent as they run over Donghyuck’s face. He leans closer, Donghyuck’s eyes fall shut and then they’re kissing.
Fireworks bursting behind his closed eyelids and butterflies swooning in his stomach are too little to describe what Donghyuck feels the moment Jeno’s lips touch his. He makes a desperate sound, chasing after Jeno when he pulls away after the first chaste kiss. Donghyuck’s hand grasps onto the front of Jeno’s shirt, curling his fingers and pulling him back to Donghyuck. Jeno follows easily, slotting his lips over Donghyuck’s again, less hesitant and shy about their second kiss.
It’s too much, it’s not enough. Jeno is so close to him, Donghyuck needs him to be closer still. He wants to mould his body against Jeno’s, to become one complete entity until nobody is able to tell where he begins and Jeno ends. Donghyuck wants so much and he’s never wanted something so much before, he’s becoming greedy for it but he doesn’t care. He’ll take the stares and the whispers and the gossip if it means that he’ll be able to kiss Jeno like this again, to hold him and love him and be the person he holds and loves back in return.
Donghyuck makes another sound, just as desperate as the last one, pulling Jeno by the shirt until the demon curves his body over Donghyuck’s, leaning over him to press him into the sofa. He can’t get enough, each time their lips part Donghyuck barely gives himself a moment to catch a breath before he’s going in for more.
Jeno growls, his lips pressed to Donghyuck’s. Jeno seems to love how much Donghyuck aches for it, reaching out to pull him up and position him on his lap. Donghyuck whines against his lips, kissing him so hard Jeno’s head tilts back with the force of it.
He needs Jeno out of his clothes, now. He wants Jeno in him, on him—he doesn’t know, he just knows that he needs Jeno in any capacity he can get him.
“Fuck me,” Donghyuck breathes softly when Jeno pulls away, choosing to litter kisses on his cheek and down his jawline instead of chasing after the demon’s lips again. “Jeno, please, fuck me.”
“Not here,” Jeno rumbles from within his chest, hooking his hands under Donghyuck’s thighs and standing up with him, ignoring Donghyuck’s grumbled protests. “I’m not fucking you on the sofa for our first time, baby.”
“Why not?” Donghyuck whines high in the back of his throat, nipping at Jeno’s skin with his teeth, making Jeno hiss under his breath. “Please, I want it. I want it—”
“And you’ll have it,” Jeno promises to him, leaning his head back to look Donghyuck in the eyes. Donghyuck lets him softly thump their foreheads together without saying anything. “You’ll have me, baby. I promise. You just have to learn how to be a bit patient, hm?”
Donghyuck bites his lip and doesn’t answer, allowing Jeno to carry him to his bedroom without any further fuss made.
Jeno lays him down on the bed, pecking Donghyuck’s cheek before he straightens his body back up to loom over him. Donghyuck watches with a bated breath as Jeno uses his magic to conceal his wings, reaching back over his head to pull off his shirt. His wings appear again when the shirt is finally off, falling from Jeno’s fingers down to the ground without a second thought about it.
The demon looks at him, Donghyuck stares back, his chest slightly heaving with each drawn breath. Jeno’s head tilts, a slow smile curling on his lips before he reaches for Donghyuck’s ankles, securing his grip around each of them and tugging.
Donghyuck slides down the bed with a sharp gasp.
Jeno smiles so widely, until his eyes turn into crescent moons with it. It’s not an unkind smile but it looks and feels condescending to Donghyuck. Like he just knows that Jeno’s about to ruin him.
“Let’s get you out of these clothes, yeah?” Jeno asks with an innocent tone. Yes, Donghyuck screams inside his head, offering nothing but a shaky nod to Jeno. Yes, yes, please.
Jeno quietly snickers, his hands making quick work of ridding Donghyuck of his jeans and underwear. Donghyuck, in the meantime, takes off his shirt.
And then he’s left naked, while Jeno still stands with his sweatpants on.
“Off,” Donghyuck whines, running his feet up Jeno’s hips, as if he can force the material down just like that. Jeno chuckles louder now, lifting one of Donghyuck’s feet up to press a sweet kiss on his ankle. He takes off his sweatpants and underwear before Donghyuck can think to complain more about it.
Jeno’s so pretty, is Donghyuck’s first thought once he catches sight of the demon’s nude body.
“You’re so pretty, baby,” Jeno says out loud, stealing Donghyuck’s thought before it can even materialise into words. Donghyuck’s body shakes as Jeno’s hand runs over his ankle, up to his knee, drifting toward his thigh, the action sure and confident. Jeno’s hand stops at his thigh, squeezing the flesh and taking delight in how Donghyuck’s eyes pinch closed, eyebrows furrowed and bottom lip getting tucked between his teeth. “So fucking pretty,” Jeno breathes out, fervent, a worshipper at the altar of his favoured God as he leans down to place kisses all over the inside of Donghyuck’s thighs.
“Jeno,” Donghyuck whines and his name falling from the angel’s lips sounds like a sin, runs down his spine and makes goosebumps rise all over his skin.
Jeno grunts, shifting up on the bed and folding Donghyuck’s legs until his knees touch the mattress on each side of his head. The angel whimpers, hands scrambling to hold onto Jeno’s hips as the demon comes closer, nudging his legs open. Jeno rests Donghyuck’s legs on his shoulders and looks down with a smile.
“Hold tight, baby.”
Donghyuck takes a trembling breath as Jeno runs his thumb over his hole, mumbling an incantation. Donghyuck can feel it when the magic takes place, feels how he loosens immediately, whines as Jeno presses the head of his cock against his hole. Jeno smiles, the gesture way too soft in contrast to the rest of his demeanour.
Donghyuck tightens his grip on Jeno’s hips. The demon gives him another moment to centre himself and then he thrusts forwards. Donghyuck feels every nerve in his body come alive as his back arches off of the bed with a moan.
Jeno hums in satisfaction when he bottoms out, his whole body shivering with pleasure. He looks so sated, just from that, his eyes closing in bliss. Donghyuck watches him with lidded eyes, his lips curling into a small, open-mouthed smile. He feels good knowing that he’s making Jeno feel good.
Jeno gives another hum when their eyes meet, head tilting in thought. Donghyuck starts quietly moaning as Jeno thrusts into him, long and slow, his hands rubbing over the demon’s hips in encouragement.
“Please,” he whispers, breathless as he watches Jeno fuck him. Donghyuck smiles in content when Jeno speeds up, his thrusts getting quicker and harder, the sound of skin slapping against skin rising, moans building up in his throat and freely flowing out of his mouth.
“Yeah?” Jeno gives him a slow smile, leaning down to rest his forehead against Donghyuck’s. “You like that, baby? Feels good?”
“Uh-huh,” Donghyuck moans to his lips, obsessed with how Jeno feels inside him, obsessed with the way the demon’s wings stretch over them, covering the room in darkness.
He shakes with the thrusts, moans as Jeno shuffles up on the mattress, pressing closer to fuck him harder. Donghyuck feels so good, so good, and safe. Donghyuck takes a deep breath, warmth settling in his chest.
Donghyuck slowly exhales.
His wings appear and unfurl from his back a moment later, the white of his feathers a stark contrast to the navy blue of his bed sheets.
Jeno stills completely, a shocked breath leaving his lips. He’s left staring with wide eyes, his grip flexing on Donghyuck’s thighs. “Donghyuck—”
“Don’t,” Donghyuck stutters, suddenly breathing too quickly. Jeno notices, his hands immediately moving to run over Donghyuck’s skin. “It’s not weird— Right? Jen?”
“Why would it be,” Jeno asks in disbelief, like he can’t believe why Donghyuck would think this is weird. Why would he think that Donghyuck showing Jeno his wings would be weird. “Donghyuck, you’re so pretty.”
“Don’t you,” Donghyuck frowns in confusion, “don’t you feel… dazed? Like you’re in a haze? Is it not— Do they not affect you like that?”
“No,” Jeno shakes his head. “No, Hyuck. I just feel you. You’re the only one affecting me. Your wings are pretty too but you’re… glowing, Hyuck. Like, literally.”
“Yeah,” Donghyuck swallows, knowing that his skin has started faintly glowing with the rest of his powers slipping away. “Is it… fine?”
“That you trust me enough to show me your wings?” Jeno raises his eyebrows in bewilderment. “Yes, Hyuck. It’s fine. It’s more than fine.”
Donghyuck smiles, shy as he looks up at Jeno. His wings twitch when Jeno reaches out to thumb at a feather, making Donghyuck shudder with pleasure.
“Fuck, I love you.”
Donghyuck blinks up at Jeno in shock, but Jeno’s not looking at his wings as he says those words. He’s staring directly at Donghyuck, gazing into his eyes with nothing but love and devotion shown on his face.
“I love you,” Jeno says, roughly, as if he needs to drill words into Donghyuck’s head. Donghyuck softly sobs, his lips quivering as Jeno presses his head against Donghyuck’s. “I love you, so fucking much. Thank you,” Jeno kisses him, and Donghyuck cries because he knows why. “Thank you so much,” another hard kiss, “for trusting me. Thank you so much, Hyuckie, baby.”
Donghyuck shakily breathes as Jeno starts thrusting into him again, kissing him over and over again. Donghyuck whines, wrapping a hand around Jeno’s nape and holding him close to properly kiss him as the demon keeps fucking him.
They jostle up the bed with the thrusts, breathing harshly against each other’s faces. Donghyuck moans to Jeno’s lips as the demon reaches out to touch his wings again.
“I love you,” Jeno whispers to his lips.
More tears slide down Donghyuck’s cheeks. “I love you too,” the angel sobs to his lips.
Donghyuck takes a breath, head tilting back after Jeno thrusts against that one spot inside him that makes his vision fill with stars.
“Look at me,” Jeno rumbles, his hand grabbing hold of Donghyuck’s jaw. “Look at me when I fuck you, baby.”
Donghyuck loudly moans at the words, at the grip that slips down to his neck when he opens his eyes to look at Jeno again. Donghyuck grabs onto Jeno’s hand when it starts slipping downward, directing it back to his neck, staring straight into Jeno’s eyes as he tightens his hand over the demon’s, silently encouraging the action.
Jeno takes a startled breath but he doesn’t let his surprise affect him for too long, his eyes darkening as he tightens his grip, slightly restricting Donghyuck’s breathing that’s now starting to get heavy.
“You’re full of surprises, baby,” Jeno smiles to Donghyuck’s lips, snapping his hips to Donghyuck’s, just to hear the way Donghyuck sharply moans, to feel how his throat moves under his hand as the angel tries to swallow.
They get into it, Donghyuck’s legs locking around Jeno’s waist, pulling him impossibly closer, Jeno fucking into him until he can feel a knot tightening in the pit of his belly, until Donghyuck’s throat gets raw from the sounds he keeps making, until Jeno manages to suck multiple hickeys on the angel’s skin.
Donghyuck groans, his hair matted on his sweaty forehead. “I’m going to come—”
“Yeah?” Jeno breaths, pressing his lips to Donghyuck’s cheek. “Are you? Going to come on my cock, baby? You’re so beautiful,” Jeno grunts, his teeth grinding together as he tries to hold off his own orgasm. Anything to make sure Donghyuck finds release first. “You’re so good to me, baby. Come on, you can let go, it’s fine.”
Donghyuck whimpers, his hands grasping Jeno’s head to bring him into a kiss. The angel’s next moan pitches in volume, Jeno’s hands flexing around his throat. His back arches off of the bed, pushing his chest to Jeno’s as he comes with a groan.
Jeno’s hips stutter, a moan rattling against his throat as he bows over Donghyuck’s body, tucking his head in the space between Donghyuck’s neck and shoulder as he comes inside of the angel, shudders with it, feels how Donghyuck’s hands run over his back. Jeno’s wings shake with his release, lowering to rest over him and the body beneath him.
They simply breathe for the next few minutes, Jeno’s hand leaving Donghyuck’s neck, running his lips over the area. Donghyuck’s pants are soft and calm as Jeno presses close to him.
Jeno leaves him to rest on the bed for a bit with a parting kiss to his lips. Donghyuck twists his body to bury his face into the bed sheets, a happy sigh slipping from his mouth at the ache he feels in the small of his back and his thighs.
When Jeno comes back he has a glass of water with him. He helps Donghyuck sit up, tilting the glass to the angel’s lips.
“Let’s shower,” Jeno mumbles against Donghyuck’s temple when he has finished drinking. Donghyuck hums, leaning up to press a kiss to Jeno’s jawline as he lets the demon carry him in his arms toward the bathroom.
He doesn’t hide away his wings, letting them fold against his back.
He trusts Jeno. He loves Jeno.
“So, what then?”
Donghyuck blinks at Mark in disbelief. “So, then we had, like, three rounds of amazing, mind-blowing sex.”
“Okay, ew, no,” Mark’s face scrunches up with disgust. “TMI, dude.”
“You’re the one who asked, what the fuck?”
“I take my question back. My mistake, entirely.”
“Obviously,” Donghyuck rolls his eyes in faux annoyance.
“What are we arguing about?” Renjun asks as he arrives at their table. Donghyuck ignores his question in favour of turning to his boyfriend who slides into the open seat next to him.
“Hi,” Donghyuck brightly smiles at Jeno, getting a soft smile in return. He blinks when Jeno leans in to peck him on the lips, melting against Jeno’s side.
“Hi, baby,” Jeno murmurs to his forehead. They settle against each other and enjoy a first row seat at the show that is Mark and Renjun trying to skirt around their feelings, as if it isn’t blatantly obvious how much they like each other.
Donghyuck hums, sinking in Jeno’s arms, happy that that doesn’t have to be him anymore. Jeno’s left wing rests over his shoulders, Donghyuck’s wings not visible but present as they stay folded close to Donghyuck’s back, felt only by Jeno who’s pressing his body against him.
Jeno places another kiss on Donghyuck’s cheek and Donghyuck smiles.
If Jeno and Donghyuck managed to find their happy ending with all the odds stacked against them, so will Mark and Renjun. Donghyuck’s absolutely certain of it.