One fine day, Hell descended on Heaven.  

"Tell me again why the  does Heaven need new angels when we are all ing immortal," grits Kyungsoo as he crushes the letter in his hand, having not bothered to read it at all the instant he saw the first word after a handwritten to my dearest Kyungsoo. 

From both experience and vicarious learning after these hundreds of years in Heaven, Kyungsoo has concluded that no good thing follows after a congratulations! And, he would list a whole lot of examples which, unfortunately, befell upon him but he hasn't got time to do so.  

Not when he has a baby angel to take care of now.  

In Heaven, as part of a Standard Operating Procedure thought of by a person nobody ing knows (but would very much wish to ing kill), new batches of angels are born every year. Nobody knows why new angels are being created (ethically, of course, in Heaven's very ethical lab) annually, but everybody knows that these angels must be taken care of. And everybody knows that these angels, although angels, are everything but angelic. Again, Kyungsoo would quote some seniors who have been through this... wonderful (read: tumultuous) process (and lived to tell the tale), but he simply hasn't got time to do so. 

Not when his baby angel seems to be heading straight for him right now.  

"Holy . Is that a... stork?" Kyungsoo gawps, a hand coming up to shield his eyes from the rising sun ("Why the are they delivering the baby devils this early in the morning?"). He makes out three storks in the air, with three seemingly identical bundles dangling beneath them.  

A scoff comes from next to Kyungsoo. "You sound like as though you haven't been told how the new angels are delivered to their carers."  

Without taking his eyes off the incoming storks, Kyungsoo lifts the hand that is holding onto his crushed letter. "I stopped at the first word, Seok, but at least I read three ing words. That's a record right there." Then, an afterthought. "Also, you can't blame me when I've been conditioned to fear the word 'congratulations' from our beloved Boss."  

"Soo's got a point," says a voice that comes from Kyungsoo's other side. From the corners of his eyes, Kyungsoo makes out Yixing pursing his lips. "Yifan's sarcasm knows no bounds and knows no limit to targets. Even I, sometimes, wonder if his informal letters are sarcastic or not."  

Minseok tsks, but says no more and silence descends upon the three angels. Having received identical letters informing them of their new job just last night ("I swear, I will murder Yifan one day."), they arranged to wait for their respective baby devils angels together in front of Kyungsoo's lawn. In the silence, there's nothing to do but look to the sky, and wait for the storks to arrive.  

Kyungsoo absentmindedly stares, eyes following the birds as they draw closer and closer with each flap of their wings. And with each passing second of waiting and waiting and waiting, he begins to feel nauseous. He starts to feel anxious, apprehensive, afraid. Kyungsoo needs to calm the down. He needs to assure himself, needs to keep a clear head.  

He needs someone. 

Stuffing the crushed letter into the pocket of his black sweatpants ("What? Did you think angels wear those disgusting white robes?"), Kyungsoo takes a minute step towards Yixing, circling his arms around his friend and resting his head on a shoulder to gather some form of comfort and assurance. Yixing's arms wrap around Kyungsoo seconds later. Sadly, Kyungsoo isn't getting much of the comfort and assurance he wanted. (It's not Yixing's fault.) 

"They're here." 

Kyungsoo sees how the storks start to descend from the sky. The bundles—or baskets, now that he can clearly see—beneath them meet the pavement gently, and the birds land with a quiet thump. Around their necks hang three small wooden pieces with characters carved on them. At a closer look, Kyungsoo identifies their respective names. He supposes that the basket carrying his baby devil angel is attached to the stork with his name.  

It is as though time has stopped, for nobody moves; Kyungsoo isn't even breathing. Then, as sudden as time 'stopped', it 'resumed'.   

Yixing is the first to move. He pulls away from Kyungsoo, steps out of Kyungsoo's arms to take a cautious step towards his assigned stork. Dropping to the floor, Yixing reaches out to detach the basket from the harness around the bird's body. The stork immediately ruffles its feathers but doesn't do anything else. 

"Aww, is this baby Baekhyun?" A coo attracts his attention, and Kyungsoo sees how Yixing's lips are curling upwards into a dimpled smile that he has seen plenty in all his hundreds of years of being Yixing's friend (and neighbour). He has a hand resting on the bundle in the basket. "You're so adorable!" 

Just then, another coo comes from elsewhere. 

"I just know that you're going to break hearts when you grow up. Right, Han?" Minseok coos, his facial expression the epitome of fond. Unlike Yixing, he has the bundle in his hands, lifting the baby up and out of the basket to cradle in his arms. Minseok is prodding at his (super) young charge's face, the smile on his face wide and dazzling. 

Still feeling rather nauseous, Kyungsoo turns away. His eyes land on his assigned stork, and he takes in his carved name on the piece of wood, the feathers of the bird, and, then, the basket.  

The basket which is shaking.  

"Your baby seems to be rather active, Soo," Minseok pipes up. With his baby devil angel—Han—in his arms, he walks over to Kyungsoo and, too, peers down at the basket. "I think he's going to cause you much trouble. Like Yixing's baby right now."  

At the mention of their friend, Kyungsoo whirls around to find Yixing grunting, struggling to keep his baby from slipping out of his arms. Wails are coming from the bundle cradled in Yixing's arms, unceremoniously shattering the tranquillity of the used-to-be-quiet street. Short, stubby limbs are flailing about, causing the blanket that was originally wrapped around it him—Baekhyun—to fall to the pavement. Yixing doesn't pick it up, can't pick it up since his attention is wholly occupied and his hands are terribly full. It's been barely ten minutes but Yixing's baby is already proving to be a challenge.  

Fear washes over Kyungsoo, and at that very moment he wonders if he can still escape and go down to live on Earth instead. Mortality sounds amazing when compared to taking care of a goddamn devil's spawn angel. Unfortunately, unfortunately, unfortunately Kyungsoo knows that that is wishful thinking and definitely impossible (with an uppercase i). His nausea continues to grow. 

"Uh, Soo?" Minseok suddenly speaks. 

"What?" replies Kyungsoo. His eyes refuse to leave the sight that is Yixing still struggling to hold onto baby Baekhyun (for the twelfth minute now), and he misses the way Minseok's tone harbours on worry and disbelief. 

"Your baby's on fire." 

--- 

Chanyeol is the name of Kyungsoo's baby devil angel.  

Like every other angel in Heaven, he has an ability. And boy is Chanyeol’s ability amazing. It’s so awesome that Kyungsoo doesn't know if he ought to be proud or worried that the baby angel is capable of unleashing his ability and produce fire (read: set himself on fire) at the age of one month. Kyungsoo also doesn't know if he ought to laugh or cry that he only knew of his charge's ability by witnessing how red yellow red flames were enveloping Chanyeol (and subsequently his blanket and basket; thankfully, the stork moved away in time).  

A Chanyeol that was grinning. 

"You really should have read your letter, Soo," chastised Minseok. 

"Thank goodness your ability is super effective against his," said Yixing. 

And it was truly thank goodness. Although Minseok's ability renders him to be able to conjure ice (which could somewhat douse the flames), he was unable to since he had baby Han in his arms. Instead, Chanyeol’s fire was put out by Kyungsoo’s earth, Kyungsoo having moved a large mound of soil from his lawn to literally bury the flaming baby. And when everything was over, Kyungsoo ended up with a messed-up front lawn and an earth-covered baby angel. Needless to say, he was Not Pleased. 

Now, even as Kyungsoo has somewhat settled his lawn (by dumping back the moved soil) and is quietly watching baby Chanyeol—currently sitting in the bathtub, his short and stubby arms flailing about and splashing water everywhere—he finds himself still fuming. He didn’t sign up for this. Kyungsoo sure as  did not write his name down somewhere or anywhere in agreement to care for one of Heaven’s newest batch of angels. but Kyungsoo knows. He knows of the procedure: it's mandatory for an angel to care for a new angel at least once in his or her lifetime. Once you've done the deed of raising your baby angel to the stipulated age, your name is removed from the list. You're free. Free from having to ever care for another devil angel—unless you nominate yourself back into the list, of course. (Which is never.) 

Yet, Kyungsoo has heard the stories. He has witnessed meltdowns and tantrums in public places, and even once had to help a fellow angel when her baby angel started conjuring vines out of nowhere and they were snaking across the supermarket tiles and wrapping around everything. It wasn’t a huge disaster, not really, but it opened Kyungsoo’s eyes to how... uncontrolled new angels are. They're practically walking time bombs, waiting for the countdown to end, to explode and wreak havoc upon Heaven.  

Hence, the day when the year's new batch of angels are born isn't coincidentally referred to as 'Hell Day' for fun. It is truly the day where Hell descends on Heaven. 

A gurgle snaps Kyungsoo out of his thoughts and he quickly look at his baby angel. Blinks. Blinks again. Then sighs.  

Kyungsoo's bathroom has turned into a sauna. The temperature is unknown but Kyungsoo has no doubt that it's probably in the sixties, seventies, or eighties even. The evidence that the temperature isn't above ninety degrees Celsius is because a) Kyungsoo's skin is still on him—it hasn't peeled off—and b) Chanyeol is still splashing the bath water every-ing-where (Kyungsoo doesn't want to think of the clean-up)—not much of the water hasn't evaporated. Wisps of steam are wafting up from the bubbling bath water. There's no red yellow red enveloping Chanyeol at the moment, but Kyungsoo's certain that the baby angel must be emanating enough heat from within his body to be somewhat boiling water—a clear indicator of the uncontrollable aspect of new angels.  

He's worried. Kyungsoo is very worried about how he's going to have to live with a baby who doesn't know how to control his ability and may at any given moment erupt into flames. Baby Chanyeol has already burnt his blanket and basket into black, black soot. The diaper and onesie that he was wearing somehow managed to survive the ordeal though, and Kyungsoo's suspicion of them being made with a material that is able to withstand Chanyeol's pyromaniac tendencies is confirmed when several boxes of diapers and clothes in all sizes were delivered to his front door just before Kyungsoo decided to give his (super) young charge a bath. It's all very foreign, very strange for Kyungsoo.  

He doesn't know what to think, what to feel. Overwhelmed is an understatement. 

Well, at least someone seems to be having a great time. Oblivious to his carer's mood, baby Chanyeol continues to play in the semi-muddy water, tiny fingers grasping onto nothing as he tries to grab at the water. A pout forms on his cherubic face, and it’s simply adorable.  

Truth be told, despite the initial... havoc, Kyungsoo has had a good look at his baby angel. Chanyeol, although covered with earth at that time, possesses the prettiest eyes that Kyungsoo has ever seen (and that's including his own large ones). And then there are his elfish-looking ears. Kyungsoo doesn't know if elves exist, but if he hadn't known that baby Chanyeol is an angel, he definitely would have mistaken the baby as an elf.  

(While Kyungsoo still doesn't agree with the creation of angels [even though he himself was created as well], he gives a silent pat on the shoulders of the scientists at the Lab for creating such an adorable baby.  

And Kyungsoo silently gives thanks to whomever assigned Chanyeol to him. Thank you for giving me such a beautiful boy. Thank you for not assigning me Baekhyun; he's the ugliest baby I've ever laid eyes on.) 

"Achoo!" 

Kyungsoo hears a sneeze. Then, he feels heat blazing right in front of him before his vision suddenly turns foggy and he feels like his skin is going to peel.  

In the haziness of the bathroom, he makes out red yellow red. Kyungsoo sighs. 

Chanyeol's set himself on fire. Again. 

--- 

"Uh, Soo?" 

"Yes, Seok?" 

"Why does Chanyeol have a leash around his torso...?" 

"It's to prevent him fro– Oh, look, there he goes trying to fly away again." 

"…" 

"You should try it on Han." 

"Well, I–" 

"Han's trying to fly away." 

"Where did you buy that leash." 

--- 

"For the last time, Xing, no." 

A whine immediately comes. "But, Soo..." 

"Uh-uh," says Kyungsoo as he wiggles a finger in front of Yixing's pouty face. "No matter how much you beg, I am still not trading my campfire for your flashlight." 

Yixing blows a raspberry. Huffily folds his arms across his chest. "Hyun is not a flashlight."  

"Says the person who calls him a lantern." 

"Kyungsoo!" Yixing shoots Kyungsoo a glare. A harmless glare. Kyungsoo blinks in his friend's face. Yixing puffs his cheeks out. "I– That was Minseok's nickname! Not mine!"  

"Whatever." Kyungsoo waves dismissively.  

"It's not whatever," Yixing mutters. "I really would take any other angel over one who thinks it's fun to blind you every four seconds." 

Kyungsoo looks at the two small figures sitting a couple of feet away from them. Both Chanyeol and Baekhyun are seated on the rug (not fireproof, unfortunately), currently engaged in bouts of babbling and cackling that are not understood by either of their carers. It's adorable, though, the two of them. Stubby arms gesturing wildly, tiny fingers pointing in all directions while their mouths never seem to shut for more than a second. Eyes popping, narrowing. Lips curling upwards, turning downwards. Teeth appearing, disappearing. 

And then, it happens.  

Light appears on both of Baekhyun's arms, rapidly spreading and enveloping all of the baby angel. The intensity of the light also increases, and although Kyungsoo knows that he has to keep an eye on Chanyeol, he still succumbs to the brightness and shuts his eyes. He squeezes them tight because Baekhyun's light is simply too ing bright. It's crazy, having to lose your sight suddenly.  

And Kyungsoo understands Yixing's words then. Pity for his friend instantly fills him. Kyungsoo sympathises with Yixing, with his circumstance, his plight. But. But feeling piteous doesn't equate to wanting to exchange baby angels—now Kyungsoo is very certain that he'd like to keep his campfire thank you very much. 

After a couple of seconds ("Four seconds, to be exact," says Yixing), the light fades away and a nudge at his side from Yixing tells Kyungsoo that he can open his eyes now. Yixing's living room appears in Kyungsoo's eyes once again, but something in the space has changed. It doesn't take a genius to know what. Kyungsoo sighs. 

Yixing's curtains are visibly on fire. 

"I'll be taking your new set of unicorn curtains then, Soo." 

--- 

"Oh no." 

"…??" 

"I'm down to your last diaper, Yeol." 

"….?" 

"Time for potty training, kid." 

"….!" 

--- 

It's Month Five (inclusive of the one month before Chanyeol was delivered to Kyungsoo) of taking care of one of Heaven's newest angel.  

And, for the umpteenth time, Kyungsoo finds himself wondering if he can still escape down to Earth. He's, honestly, had enough of putting out fires, of giving up his furniture to his friends-slash-neighbours to replace the ones that Chanyeol set fire to, and of digging out his young charge from within the mountain of earth Kyungsoo has to summon in order to extinguish the flames on Chanyeol himself.  

But, of course, for the umpteenth time too, his common sense answers him with a big fat NO.  

Chanyeol, too, also answers him with a no.  

"Soo, you can't go down to Earth," he says, those almond-shaped eyes of his not looking away from the meatballs that Kyungsoo is currently placing onto his plastic plate. "If you do, then who's going to take care of me?" And as if to make a point, Chanyeol looks up and at Kyungsoo, a short finger pointing to the meatballs on his plate. Kyungsoo understands his young charge's point: who's going to make meatballs for me if you go? 

Kyungsoo regrets introducing this dish to Chanyeol, for meatballs have now become a staple in the Kyungsoo Household. The butcher at Heaven's supermarket knows Kyungsoo's order—minced beef—by heart, and Kyungsoo's fridge smells terribly of cow. A certain pot has, also, been designated for cooking the meatballs for fear of contamination. 

("Even though milk comes from cows but, wow, your milk really smells like one," Minseok had remarked that one time he came over for dinner and had poured both himself and Han a cup.)  

To summarize, Chanyeol is crazy for meatballs and Kyungsoo has to make them for him if he wants to keep his lovely house free from fire. Like previous times, Kyungsoo would love to mention several examples of how his house caught fire when meatballs weren't in Chanyeol's meals, but he hasn't got time to do so. 

Not when Chanyeol has already scarfed down all ten meatballs that were on his plate and is now pointedly looking at the ones on Kyungsoo's own. 

"Nope," Kyungsoo quickly says, lifting his fork to spear one before putting it into his mouth. He swallows, forks another. "You've already had your share, so these are mine."  

"B-But! Soo!" 

"You promised, Chanyeol." Kyungsoo puts down his fork, folds his arms across his chest. He furrows his brows, slaps a frown on his face. Kyungsoo's pretty sure that his body language effectively tells Chanyeol just how serious he is, and from the way his young charge gradually deflates, he's got the message. Chanyeol isn't five years old for naught. 

Although only created five months ago, Chanyeol has grown to the size of a five-year-old now, and his intellect has also developed to that of a mortal at that age. This is all possible due to the known fact that angels grow up fast. A month on Heaven equates to approximately a year on Earth, this high-speed growth no doubt an attribute implanted into angels when they were created in the Lab. Nobody knows why they have to grow up this quickly but, wow, all this is very ethical isn't it. Very ethical indeed. 

And as if to further show just how ethical they are, the Lab has also implanted in all created angels a mechanism that stops growth when they reach the mortal age of twenty-four. Nobody knows why they have to stop growing at that particular age but, wow, yet another ethical feature. Very ethical indeed. 

Kyungsoo has been twenty-four years old for hundreds of years now, while Chanyeol has only been five years old for less than two days. So, it's rather obvious that the young angel would never be able to out-argue his carer. Well, not at this age anyway. (Kyungsoo is utterly terrified of when Chanyeol grows up.) 

"Fine," says Chanyeol. He picks up his fork. "I'm going to eat potatoes." Then, an afterthought. "I'm going to need a lot of potatoes, Soo." And he pointedly stares at the potatoes sitting neatly on Kyungsoo's plate.  

Kyungsoo pretends not to notice.  

(Chanyeol's on his last piece of gravy-coated potato when Kyungsoo quietly deposits two pieces from his own plate. The smile that forms on the boy's face makes Kyungsoo smile as well, and he reaches over to playfully tousle his young charge's hair. Chanyeol's giggles are music to his ears.) 

--- 

"Soo?" 
 

"Yes, Yeol?" 

"How long more until I'm your age?" 

"Hmm, sixteen more years. Why?" 

"Because I can't wait for the day when I finally can't be scolded by you." 

"I can still scold you when you're twenty-four, Chanyeol." 

"… Drats." 

"And, if you're not going to bed right now I'm going to do that very thing you dislike me doing." 

"… Fine. G'night, Soo!" 

"… Cute." 

--- 

Time flies. It's nearing the end of Month Ten of angel-rearing. 

Kyungsoo is currently sitting on the steps leading up to his front door with Yixing and Minseok. They're sipping on Minseok's homemade banana milkshake while waiting for their boys to return home from school. Now that Chanyeol, Han, and Baekhyun are ten-going-onto-eleven years old, they've been al