Double Ending Update Part 1! Check out the next chapter too! ( ⓛ ω ⓛ *) /

Chen’s chest clenched whenever he looked away from the bed, so he stopped tearing his gaze away. He had gotten enough supplies from Earth to make Minseok comfortable. He brought tissues, extra blankets, a case of water, a first-aid kit, some changes of clothes, rags, and even a small battery-powered lamp.

He kept a roll-up mattress for those rare occasions where he felt like curling up in comfort at his house, so he had dusted it out and set it up for his guardee, tucking him in and making sure that he seemed comfortable. He pulled his guardee’s phone and stuff out of his pockets, and Minseok was plushed up against a nice pillow, blanket, a serene expression on his face as he slept, the sound of his breathing steady and quiet.

Now all Chen could do was wait for him to wake up.

The time waiting made Chen jittery on the inside, and more than once, he rubbed his chest at the little gnaws that wouldn’t go away. He knew that part of it was for when Minseok would wake. The other part was for his condition after he woke.

Because Minseok had to wake up.

Yixing had told him what happened while helping his prey in the cave. The angel looked too shaken, guilty, and Chen knew that the coordinator wouldn’t have used his demonic ability on Minseok unless his guardee had asked. It was the only option too, if they were both too weak to force Hayong’s aura from Minseok. The attack of the first angel and Hayong’s hurting him with aura weapons had sped up his proxy process too much. There wasn’t enough time for Minseok’s own flurry to generate substantially, and his injuries gave opportunity for the diminished starter aura to gain power and take over.

Yixing’s demonic ability managed to eat most of Hayong’s aura, but there was also a high chance that he absorbed some of Minseok’s aura and soul too.

The angel knew how to separate the two auras, but he said that controlling his demonic ability was a fight in of itself. Yixing cried when he saw how weak Minseok’s aura and connection with hell was at the end, professing apologies to them and insults to himself. Chen especially didn’t like that and the way his chest twisted a little at the sight, so he wiped the angel’s tears and told him not to be sorry or to say those words anymore.

 He knew that Minseok would pull through. His guardee was secretly stubborn. Chen knew it, even as his mind vibrated in the beginnings of that frenzy. He reached to take Minseok’s hand and squished it.

He was a little colder than usual, but Chen wasn’t sure if that was because of his condition or because he was turning into a frost demon. Yixing told him that all parts of his body could change except for his eyes—they would stay the same as his original form: human.

Chen wanted to see them. Those brown eyes that gazed at him softly or in a tease, expressive and warm. He pulled Minseok’s hand a little closer.

He was weak, and since his proxy sign had disappeared from his back, he would remain that way after he woke up. Right now, he was probably as strong as one of the D-class demonic beasts of hell, just above the lowest level of demons, practically a newborn. If his connection with hell allowed it, then maybe he could recover to at least the amount of aura he had while still a proxy. But either way, he would need constant protection. At that strength and skill level, he needed Chen as a guard for his safety as well as Chen’s own sanity. Chen didn’t care if he would never get another mission again as long as Minseok was safe.

A quiver behind him made him pause. The room they were in resembled the winter den he and his family stayed in. There were no windows, only one regular entrance, the other being deep within as an emergency exit. A short corridor led to this room, and the little lamp he brought didn’t illuminate that far, so Chen only saw a shadow. Slowly, he set Minseok’s hand down and under the blanket again before flaring out his aura and flipping around.

The other’s aura immediately shrank back, a sign of truce and benignity, and that was when Chen recognized this particular sway of aura.

“Taeyeon?”

“Yes, it’s me. Can I come in?”

He grunted and sat back down. As she came into the room, he took Minseok’s hand again and started rubbing it between his palms.

“How is he?”

“Unconscious and weak, but he’ll live.” Fear laughed in the depths of his mind. “He has to.”

She didn’t respond right away. Chen continued warming his Min’s hand and up his arm too.

“Why’re you here? My commander left to help my coordinator deactivate his connection with hell in heaven’s core, and I don’t know where Commander Haaka went.”

“You preempt my questions then. I was also worried for Minseok. I see that he’s in good hands though.”

Chen nodded.

“What about you? How’re you?”

Chen paused. He wasn’t really the person who needed to be asked this, but a small fuzzy feeling diffused through him even as he recognized the fear curdling through too.

“I just need for him to wake up.”

He flinched at how broken he sounded and sidled away from Taeyeon, but she stepped closer to him, knelt as his side, and, tentatively, wrapped an arm around him. She didn’t say anything, but the gesture warmed his being and prickled the back of his eyes. He shuddered as he took a deep breath and murmured his thanks to the older demon. They watched Minseok for a little longer until Taeyeon tapped his shoulder.

“Thank you, Chen. For threatening me to come.”

He made a quiet snort.

“You knew that I wasn’t going to go through on it.”

“Yes, but it was encouraging nonetheless. I’m going to discuss with Commander Haaka to convince her to testify for that lord’s innocence. It’s technically not a crime to kill a rogue demon, let alone hiring another to have them killed.”

“The charge they have on her is that Lord Leenzy used the Eagle Eye without permission though.”

Taeyeon chuckled. “Oh, she had permission, alright. It was Commander Haaka who didn’t, but she also carried out justice in accordance with angelic law. Her faerie lover could be considered angel even if not fully yet, just like how Minseok was largely still considered human while a proxy. And the moment a rogue acts out against another supernatural creature unprovoked, then they lose any status of benignity, especially if the attacked is an angelic of the law. Commander Haaka will likely get off with a lighter sentence.”

Chen raised his eyebrows a little. He hadn’t considered that law with that situation before, but it was true.

“Then, I’ll get going. Call me in the human world when you guys get the chance.”

He nodded, and she stood. As he looked back at Minseok though, his chest squeezed, and a thought flashed in his mind.

“Taeyeon?”

“Yes?”

“At the human business party, you said that you didn’t think that you would ever see a demon love.”

“I did.”

“Did my commander and his unitmates not love each other?”

For a long while, all was silent. Chen didn’t turn around because he knew that the question was a hard one. Finally, she breathed out a slow exhale.

“I thought that we did. Suho thought so as well. Back when my commander was still alive, I only felt genuine affection from her as she spoke towards us. Maybe through time, the experiment had become more than that, but Kyuhyun wouldn’t see it that way.”

“Why?”

“He was like Tongza in some regards. He didn’t want to live a life that only served God’s favored race. Learning of Tehom’s original purpose drove him into a pit of despair, and all else became guilty of that purpose. But Suho had no intention like that when he rebuilt Tehom.”

“I know.”

Chen did know. He had always trusted his commander, and when he had confessed his fears in front of him and Kai, Chen’s trust and respect only deepened for his leader.

“The love I was talking about at the party was a little different though.”

He turned around, and the lamp light shone her eyes emerald, forming a teasing smile.

“For example, I’m sure that you would be okay with kissing Minseok on the mouth or snuggling with him for the end of time but not your other unitmates.”

Chen felt bile gurgle in his throat at the thought, and Taeyeon chuckled at the face he made.

“Exactly. I was talking about that kind of love that night. Romantic love.”

He perked up at that word. He remembered Minseok had used it before when they had become prey/partners.

“Minseok said that that was how he saw us.”

“Then looks like you two are all good.”

“Wait, I don’t understand. Why are we ‘all good?’”

“Well, I assume that if Minseok said this to you, then that was how he saw you two. You also openly call him your prey and treat him like he’s the most precious thing to you, so I thought you and him were in a romantic relationship together.”

“But I’ve kissed people on the mouth before and didn’t feel anything besides lust. That’s not a good indicator.”

“Hmm. Okay then, how about a different one? Do you feel happy whenever you’re with him, lustful actions or not?”

Chen nodded.

“Do you ever want to spontaneously hold him close or do something nice for him or just want to see and talk to him?”

Chen nodded again, ducking his head a little at what he was admitting to. He didn’t really get why. He just felt… embarrassed.

“Aww, so cute, being all shy about your affections with him. The nuances between love might be a little hard to differentiate, especially for demons, but I think you’ve done a pretty good job learning them. Sometimes, it’s not something concrete you can see but just a feeling in your heart.”

“Angelics don’t have hearts.”

“The metaphorical one, little demon.”

He grimaced at the name for a young one. He was four-hundred years old for Satan’s sake, but he guessed that he was still new to experiencing and sorting emotions this complicated. Taeyeon was also older than him by several centuries.

“How do I know if it’s the same love as the one Minseok’s talking about though?”

“I think you’ll know. Have some more confidence. If you’re really stuck, talk to your prey. I think he’ll understand it the best out of all of us.”

He looked back at Minseok and nodded. It was probably best to discuss the topic with him anyway.

“Thank you.”

Taeyeon left the room with a chuckle, then her presence faded into a hell port. Chen scooted closer to Minseok, brushing light touches across his face. He swept some of his hair to the side, away from his eyes, then he wanted to run his fingers through his hair. Chen liked being petted so maybe Minseok would too. Some time as he carded his fingers through Minseok’s hair, he got distracted by his guardee’s face and stopped to watch him. He pillowed his head on his arm and shifted half on, half off of the mattress, still holding Minseok’s hand.

From the dance of the shadows across the room, he knew that it would soon be the four days that Minseok had been sleeping. He thought briefly that Yixing would only have three more days left of purifying himself in heaven’s core. Sounded painful, but necessary if he was to inactivate his connection with hell, and maybe it’d be less painful since he was an angel.

Chen started thinking about what was happening with everyone else too. Luna had been rescued from Erelim’s containment cell, cleared of the magic poisoning Tongza inflicted on her, and was recovering like Kai, D.O, and Tao. The guardian angel was already okay enough to guard Luhan again even though he had taken the full brunt of Hayong’s attack on the blessed one. Him and Sehun were taking a few days off anyway though, so they could all rest some more. Baekhyun and Chanyeol were taking some time to themselves too.

He wondered if the last two were also romantic lovers and if he could ask Baekhyun and Chanyeol for some advice, but his thoughts scattered at a whimper. He shot up. Minseok was twitching—Chen felt it where they held hands and saw where the blanket shifted—and his eyes and nose scrunched every now and then. He kept murmuring something, but all Chen caught were phrases like ‘Hell,’ ‘why,’ and some curse words.

Yixing didn’t say anything about this. Chen learned that Minseok wasn’t a sleep-talker during their time together, so the cause had to be something else. When he had been poisoned by Doyoung, he had acted out in his sleep then too. Maybe something similar was happening?

Minseok suddenly jerked, and Chen jumped back before he jumped to hold his limbs down. Convulsions wracked Minseok’s body, and panic bunched in Chen’s core.

“Minseok! I’m here. It’s okay. I’m here.”

He didn’t calm and continued twisting in the mattress, and at one point he slipped out of Chen’s grasp and nearly clawed him. Pinning that arm back down, Chen realized that Minseok was stronger than before, even stronger than when he was still a proxy. He considered wrapping him in the blanket so that he wouldn’t hurt himself when aura started thickening in the air. It swelled and flooded around Minseok. Cold instantly descended, and Chen could see ice start to glitter in the corners and their breath puffing white in the room.

He shuddered from the change in temperature and from the aura lashing about. It wasn’t concentrated into a specific form, like it was too strong to be contained. The amount of raw power almost felt like the overwhelming wave when his commander had burst out of the sinkhole as that monstrous whale. That had been the shock of Chen’s four-century life.

But what came from Minseok was a bit different. The aura flared like runoff, excess, while the point of origin fell depths and depths within and ultimately pulled the power back towards Minseok.

As sudden as he started, Minseok fell limp. Panic rang in Chen as he took Minseok’s face. His face was ice cold, but his skin seemed to hum with power underneath, and the aura lingered in the air. Was it from that? Minseok was still breathing, so Chen shook him a little.

“Minseok?”

No response.

“Minseok, come back. I don’t know how else to help you. Wake up please. Come back to me.”

He waited, shaking, for something to happen. Then before he could prepare himself, Minseok’s aura opened. A vortex in the thick power densifying in the atmoshpere, and Chen dove away as the pull started gobbling at his aura too. All the cold vanished, only the scent of it hanging in the air, leaving only silence. Chen scrambled back to Minseok, and his eyes expanded in utter shock. He watched as his dark hair faded into something lighter. Strip by strip, the dark brown iced over into the palest shade of blue possible, almost white, almost shining rainbow under the lamplight.

Those locks sprang from the pillow as Minseok bolted up and gasped, opening his eyes, clutching his chest.

Chen sputtered to an absolute halt. Minseok was awake. He was breathing like he hadn’t had air in a week, but he turned his head, and those brown eyes looked at him again, hopeful and warm.

“Chen?” he croaked out.

He pounced. He made them both fall back into the mattress and wrapped all his limbs around Minseok, burying his face into his guardee’s neck. The fear, the worry, the panic all released their hold around his chest, and relief flushed throughout his body. Everything that he had been holding back since Minseok was taken at the trial flooded him. He felt himself shake, heard himself gasping, but each breath had that mountain snow and linen scent that he found precious, that eased his chest as it wreathed within and around his body.

A warm hand came to rub circles into his back, and Minseok’s soft voice murmured reassurances in his ear. When he felt himself stop shaking as violently, he finally recognized the words Minseok was saying and the small chuckle in his voice.

“I’m fine, Chen. It’s okay. Aww, was my best cat guard worried for me?”

He pulled back and punched his guardee in the shoulder, and he smirked when he saw Minseok jump. But he didn’t get why his guardee froze then gently rubbed under his eyes.

“Don’t cry, Chen. I’m okay now. I’m sorry for scaring you.”

What? He reached up and felt the water on his cheeks. Oh.

“I’m okay. Don’t apologize.” He coughed a little for how tight his throat got. “I’m just relieved that you’re awake.”

“How long was I out?”

“Four days.”

“Four days?!”

“Yeah, that was one of the reasons why I was so worried.”

Chen could see all the questions flying through his guardee’s mind at that moment, and he smirked. He was a little distracted by the pale coloring of Minseok’s hair now though, and he wondered if he should mention it soon. He only knew one angelic who had an unnatural hair color, and that was his commander. Plus, it just changed right before his eyes, so it had to mean something. First though, was his Min’s health. He moved to grab some supplies and check on his guardee when a grip pulled him back.

“Wait, don’t get up. Just lay here with me.”

“I have to make sure that you’re not hurt though.”

Minseok scrunched his face up but with a smile, and then he threw his arms around Chen and made a squeal, muffled by Chen’s chest.

“What was that for?”

“You’re actually secretly adorable. You know that?”

He tilted his head to say that he didn’t, but Minseok hugged him again, so he didn’t really care to know anymore.

“I feel fine. Great actually. So let’s just cuddle for a bit. It feels like it’s been forever since I last got to hug you.”

Chen had to agree, so he snuggled in closer. He was already under the blanket somehow anyway. After a quiet minute of basking in each other’s presence, Minseok nudged him and asked for what happened with Hayong so Chen filled him in.

Minseok had to help decide with the other humans whether Hayong would get to live her human lifetime out, and it didn’t surprise Chen that his guardee was for the notion… at least after Chen had told him that she would still receive the punishment of walking through the Fields of Ruin every hell month while human and then remain there once she was a soul.

“What she did wasn’t right, but I also can understand what drove her to her conclusions. Part of the fault is on the angelic system and its utter lack of emotional and mental support. Like, no offence, but you guys don’t do for your individual angelics. Also, your whole law system and how you conduct trials is ed up.”

“It’s about to become your law system too.”

“Ugh.”

 The other humans had given similar statements with varying degrees of begrudging, the blessed one being the least forgiving, which Chen thought an interesting contradiction. It made more sense once he remembered that Luhan’s prey had been the biggest target of Hayong.

Chen also explained the duel between his commander and Tongza, what happened with the humans, and where Yixing had gone, and reassured his guardee that an angel stepping into holy fire would purify and not hurt him.

He also told him of his brilliant plan of how he found him in the Switzerland cave, ensured Baekhyun’s safety with Joohyun and Chanyeol, how he remembered Taeyeon’s business card, and how he got the former Tehom demon and Commander Haaka to the battlegrounds. A few chuffs puffed from him when Minseok called him a smart kitty.

“So what happens now? I’m not a proxy anymore, so do I just… join the legions?”

“I’m not too sure either. Knowing my commander—he’ll probably let you stay in the human world for a little while longer. You can rest and then also live out your human life until your age can’t be passed off anymore.”

He glanced up at Minseok’s icy blaze of hair.

“And I still have to train you the basics.”

“Right.”

Chen nodded and tucked himself against his guardee. Occasionally, he would nose Minseok’s collarbone, and the body huddled against his would shimmy in a giggle. After the third poke, he remembered that he was the only one talking, and his curiosity lit in realization.

“What happened with you?”

Minseok blinked at him in surprise before he sighed, recounting what happened after he was taken during the trial. Chen almost shot out of the bed and hell ported to the cell holding Hayong when he heard of what that hell scum did to him, but Minseok had a hold around his waist, so the furthest he got was the edge of the pillow. And… his guardee’s amount of controlled power was quite impressive.

Whatever curses he wanted to grumble dissolved into a purr as Minseok nuzzled him and continued his story. Towards the end, when he was talking about