Jiyong.

Closing his eyes, he could still remember what it felt like to have Jiyong’s long, thin fingers tangle lightly in the hair at the nape of his neck. The way Ji would always draw in a slow breath, making his thin chest puff out, as he leaned close to Youngbae – like he was trying to breathe his lover in. And the warm, chapped surface of Jiyong’s lips as they pressed against his; Jiyong would brush a feathery kiss before stealing something rougher, more desperate. It was like that nearly every time they had kissed, and Youngbae had loved it. In a way, he did not think he could have kissed anyone else unless they had tugged on his hair and breathed him in.

And it disgusted Taeyang.

To be so dependent on someone so utterly selfish was like loving the sun for shining: a waste. But Youngbae had been so certain that Jiyong was capable of being a decent human being – capable of seeing beyond the edge of his pretty little nose – that he had clung to the dream of living happily ever after with his best friend. Even as he lay dying, Youngbae thought of Jiyong; his last breath was dedicated to sighing out the dead man’s name. Taeyang supposed he should someday get around to thanking Jiyong for teaching Youngbae how the world really worked, for breaking all of those spun glass dreams.

Rolling his shoulders back in a languid motion, the demon paced into the wide darkness that surrounded his trainer’s residence. The stark elegance of the black building – marble – rose above the empty plain as though it dared the beholder to doubt the power of the owner. Even the doors were three times taller than they had to be, simply to overwhelm any who came crawling in to speak with the demon lord. Taeyang rolled his eyes a little. He saw no reason to be in the least bit intimidated by the overdramatic demon; it was difficult to take Seungri seriously.

When Taeyang sauntered into the throne room, Seungri looked up with a wide smile on his lips. He immediately passed his glass of wine off to a man chained to the base of his throne with thick barbed wire. “If it isn’t my favorite little trainee,” he purred, throwing his arms open wide. “Come, Taeyang. Tell Daddy Ri all about your adventures.”

Rather than going to embrace the man – Seungri is so strange – Taeyang moved to drape himself in a large chair, throwing his legs loosely over the arm. He snorted. “The baby angel finally showed up. I almost thought they weren’t going to fight me for Seunghyun.”

Seungri pouted at Taeyang’s refusal of skinship. But, tossing it off with a grand gesture, he swaggered down to lean up against the stone table in front of Taeyang’s chosen seat. “If the trainee was Seunghyun’s lover – the ugly kid – then he needed time to transition. There’s something about becoming an angel that apparently takes time.” He shrugged. “And different angels take longer than others. Something to do with their hierarchy.”

Taeyang gave Seungri a flat look. “Daesung.”

“Yeah, that one.” Seungri nodded. “The ugly kid.”

The younger demon just resisted kicking Seungri’s kneecap. Instead, he said, “And you’d never believe who was with him.” A cold smile twisted his features, marring the handsomeness of his face.

All of the playfulness vanished from Seungri’s expression – replaced by a calculating hardness. “Oh?”

“Yeah.” Taeyang shrugged. “Jiyong sat there like a pitiful baby telling Daesung they should just leave.” He began to pop his knuckles. “Same old, same old.” Jiyong’s going to abandon the baby angel and his stupid lover just like he abandoned me. Surprise, surprise.

Seungri gazed thoughtfully at the floor as though he were reading omens written in the red swirls in the black stone. “Interesting. He is who I would have least expected. Jaejoong or even Jinwoo would be a safer choice. They’re at least competent.” Watching Seungri think, Taeyang could tell the demon was trying to crack the puzzling choice of angels. Jiyong was known for losing souls and breaking the angels he worked with; he had not been assigned a case in some time. To pair Jiyong with someone like Daesung was odd, to say the least. There had to be some trick to it.

“Yeah, but the baby angel… He’s weird,” Taeyang mused. “Maybe that’s why they’re paired together.”

Seungri immediately looked up. “Weird? How so?”

Running a hand through his hair, Taeyang tried to recall how it felt to be around the newest little guardian angel. “Well, he threatened me for one. That was different. Angels are normally sunshine and rainbows and pacifism” He hesitated. “And…it was hard to look at him for too long. He wasn’t dim, like Jiyong.”

One of Seungri’s thick eyebrows arched. “Fascinating. It’s not hard to be brighter than Jiyong, as far as angels go. If he hadn’t died saving your pitiful life, he would have been a high ranking demon lord. It’s a wonder he doesn’t just fall and take his rightful place in Hell. You’re probably just not used to how normal angels are; you’ve not seen many of them up close.” Seungri dismissed the situation with a wave of the hand. “But that’s no issue. Why don’t you tell me what you were thinking of doing to Seunghyun next. You’ve already made good progress with him.”

As the demons and angels discussed their respective plans of attack, Mino helped his brother into bed. Seunghyun hesitated at the sight of the soft blue sheets, and he carefully ran a palm over the silky fabric. “Where did you find these?” he asked, his voice raw from too many tears.

“In the closet.” Mino frowned a little. “Is there something wrong with them?”

Leaning down, Seunghyun pressed his face into the fabric and took a deep breath. The cedar wood scent of Daesung’s cologne clung to the sheets, making it seem like the blond had been there only moments before. He sighed. “No.” Sitting up a little, Seunghyun his lips. “These were the first sheets we bought together. Called them our honeymoon sheets. I thought..they’d gotten lost. He hadn’t made the bed with them since our last anniversary.”

“Oh.” Mino ran a hand over the top of his head. “Well, they were just in the closet. Maybe he was just…keeping them from getting worn out?”

Seunghyun nodded slowly. “Yeah.” Or maybe he was falling out of love with me. Maybe they were no longer special to him. The dark thoughts had been popping up more often in Seunghyun’s mind, chewing at him like a pair of giant black dogs. It became easier and easier to think that maybe Daesung had never loved him or that the man had been falling out of love with him. After all, why would someone so perfect want a screw up like Seunghyun? The man was a walking mistake; he did not deserve the blond haired angel. Never had, never would. And there was a sort of aching peace in coming to accept that Daesung would have left him, even if he had not died.

Mino cleared his throat. “I’ve got to go to an exhibit that’s opening tonight. Did… you want to come? Ji-Hyo will be there.”

Seunghyun shook his head a little. “No. But…tell her I said hello,” the man murmured. “Maybe – maybe next time.”

A bit of a smile managed to find its way to Mino’s lips – it sounded like Seunghyun was getting at least a little better. “Can I come back tomorrow to see you?” The brunette hesitated before nodding. “Do you have a spare key I can take with me? I don’t want to wake you up if you’re sleeping when I come.”

Seunghyun twisted his fingers in the flat sheet. “In the bowl on the dresser.”

Going over to the dresser, Mino quickly found the keys. He pulled them out and weighted them in his hand, eyes fixed on the little angel wing keychain attached to it. Daesung’s keys. “I’ll take good care of them,” he promised. “And I’ll bring breakfast with me when I come. You want a coffee, too?” Seunghyun silently shrugged. “Well… I’ll be back. Make sure to eat dinner. I left some takeout menus on the counter, in case you didn’t feel like cooking.” When his brother did not answer, Mino slipped out of the apartment and into the night. Ji-Hyo would be glad to hear that he had at least managed to speak to Seunghyun.

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This baby chapter brought to you in celebration of the fact this fic got a hundred new views in less than 24 hours. I thought you might enjoy a little chapter kind of giving you Taeyang's side of the story, plus you got to meet the fabulous Demon Daddy RiRi. Next chapter will be the demons going on the offensive. And Ji-Hyo and Junsu get to appear again! So excited.

As always, thank you so much for reading!