Chapter Text
TRIGGER WARNING : CHILDBIRTH, GORE AND BLOOD, MENTIONS OF INFANTICIDE
The walls of the basement were mildly lit up with the bulbs hanging in the hallway. The basement was old, but not run down. It was kept really well maintained by the priests of the church. Why though?
Because it houses their most important relics, ancient weapons, objects used for exorcism and a very old dungeon that has people even the whole church doesn’t know of.
Like the one in the last cell of south east corner, currently screaming in agony as he cries for help. A pair of deep brown eyes stare at him out of his cell, disappointment on his face as he takes in the pathetic condition of the man in front of him.
“ Shouldn’t we go in? He needs help.”, the woman standing by his side asks, her eyes unable to watch the scene in front of her. Sister Eva is a nurse after all. Her hands were itching to just go in and cradle the head of a possibly dying man.
“ You know the rules sister Eva. It’s out of our hands. If they are meant to survive, God will let them survive.”, the man said in a grave tone. Another scream echoed amidst the old stone walls and sister Eva closed her eyes. She gripped the edge of her habit in frustration.
“ Ple..huhngh…please help me….anyone please.”, Mark screamed again as he felt the pain ripping him apart from the inside. His belly contorted visibly at this point as he tries to breath, trying to hold the old ratty mattress as his only support in the darkness. He locked eyes with Eva.
“ Sister..please, save my children.”, Mark pleaded but he couldn’t hold long, trying to bear down as the contraction was back in full force. His hair were now matted to his forehead because of the sweat, his breathing was getting uneven and soon he gave up on keeping his body up, collapsing on the mattress with a thud. That was all it took for sister Eva to suddenly barge in and hold Mark’s exhausted body in her arms.
“ Mark! Wake up, your kids need you dear.”, she said in a hurry as she taps gently on Mark’s cheek, who was delirious with pain.
“ You are breaking the rules Eva!”, the man said loudly but she didn’t look up, focused on the task ahead as she props up the excuse of a pillow behind Mark’s back and gets him in a position to push.
“ You can punish me however you like father Abisai. I don’t care. But when I took the oath of saving lives, I meant it.”, sister Eva said as she tries to make Mark sip some water.
“ Saving lives? You do know the spawn he is carrying won’t be human.”, father Abisai said, his tone incredibly bored and grating on Eva’s nerves now.
“ Mark is still human and I am not letting him die on my watch.”, she said determined and threw some water on Mark’s face to wake him up. He woke up with a gasp, eyes wide in shock and hands covering his middle protectively. Sister Eva got rid of his sweatpants and checked between his legs.
“ The first one is almost here, on count of three.”, she held Mark’s hand with one and put the other on his knee to keep it on place. Mark nodded and then pushed with all his strength the moment Eva finished the count.
“ Again! You are almost there.”, she held his hand tight and Mark was screaming again, eyes closed tightly and chin to his chest as he struggled to push. His legs were trembling but he can’t give up on his babies. This time he felt the head slip out. One more push and the shoulders were out too. Eva was now holding a squirming and wailing baby in her hands, covered in blood and grime. Mark took a deep breath before heaving his body up and looked at it. He had his doubts too. These past few months were literal hell with father Abisai’s words floating around in his ears, how his children are monsters and shouldn’t be brought into this world. How they would end up killing him in the end because they are spawns of a demon from hell. How they would look like a creature not a human, covered in scales or horns or a tail. But Mark didn’t listen to him, kept holding them close to his heart because he is their father too dammit, a human omega and he will rather die than kill his own children even if they are different. But now that he is looking, his baby looks so beautiful, it’s face all pink as it screams like a tiger, roaring for Mark’s attention with his flailing limbs. Eva shifted the baby into Mark’s embrace and he held him close, despite his weak body.
“ It’s a boy, with quite the lungs on him I must say.”, Eva gave him a teary smile and Mark, he couldn’t help but laugh excitedly between his tears. His baby, it’s his baby..finally here in flesh and so so beautiful, just like Jinyoung was. The boy quieted down the moment Mark shifted him to his side, snuggling close.
“ The other one is on it’s way, hold on.”, Eva offered her hand and Mark held it again, ready to bring the twin brother or sister this time. Abisai wasn’t very keen on finding out the gender of Mark’s unborn kids. Mark is still grateful that he didn’t kill them in his womb.
The contractions resumed and for some reason they were twice as painful. Mark is running out of energy fast as he cries in pain, unable to keep himself awake.
“ So..something’s wrong!”, he said between his screams as he tries to push but nothing is happening. Eva’s equally lost because the second one should’ve been easier to deliver after Mark’s dilated enough. But there is no sign of the head.
“ Maybe it’s the wings. They are stuck.”, Abisai says outside the cell and Eva’s eyes widened in fear. She didn’t stop though and held Mark up by his armpits, knees folded on the matress as his body hangs in Eva’s embrace.
“ Mark? Mark! Hold on to my shoulders and use the gravity okay, you got to do this or you will tear. Are you listening to me?”, Eva tries her best but Mark is breathing rapidly, losing focus because of the pain that’s building over and over, giving no fruition to all his efforts.
“ I ca..I can’t, it hurts so much.”, Mark is whispering over and over. Blood streaks are visible on his inner thighs as it pools near his knees, making him go in and out of consciousness.
“ Hey..hey listen to me okay? Look at your baby. It’s waiting for you to hold him again. You have seen how he roars when he cries. Did..did you think of any names? What are you going to name this one that’s being stubborn to come out?”, Eva is using another tactic from her books now, trying to distract Mark from the pain and focus on the end result instead. Mark opens his eyes and looks at his side. His baby is asleep for now. He looks so peaceful. He can’t let his twin suffer like this. He needs to bring him into this world too.
“ Jae..Jaebeom, this one is Jaebeom.”, Mark said with a small smile. He then held onto Eva’s shoulders and pushed again, feeling his other one slid down a little but not without tearing him from the inside.
And yet Mark didn’t stop, he can’t. He needs to see his baby, needs to keep him safe, keep him alright. The blood was now flowing from him and he felt the dark cell spinning before his eyes but he kept pushing, finally able to bring his other child into the world. He collapsed on the mattress again, almost lost to the world when he noticed his baby isn’t crying.
“ Wait..wha..what”, he tries to say but every word made him heave as he tries to push himself again, enough to sit up and look at his child that was now in Eva’s arms but unlike Jaebeom, this one was looking at him instead of crying like a newborn should. Instead, it stared at his father with eyes black as ink and skin blue like frost shines in moonlight, with tuft of platinum feathery hair on it’s head and small pair of bony wings on it’s back.
Beautiful..that’s the only world Mark can utter after seeing his baby. Eva was shaking with the boy in her arms and Mark understood. It must be frightening for her but not for him, never for him. It’s his own baby. He took it from Eva’s arms, eyes red with tears and breathing shallow with all the bloodloss that Eva started to work on as soon as her hands got free. She looked at Abisai smirking at them and then leaving the cell as if it was just another Saturday night for him. Mark tapped on the baby’s cheek but it didn’t give any response, just stared at his father with those blank eyes.
“ You..huh..you gotta cry for me baby. It’s not good if you don’t cry. Please.. for your baba.”, as if the baby understood his father’s plea and started to cry weakly, tears streaking his blue round cheeks. It was difficult to carry him because of the wings but Mark kept holding him close, unable to part. He held on until black spots started dancing in his vision and Eva slowly took him away from his arms that now laid limp. She placed the boy close to his brother and he immediately snuggled to Jaebeom , who was sleeping without a care in the world.
Mark woke up to someone frantically whispering at him. He opened his eyes with difficulty, unable to understand at first but then the events of last night started flooding into his brain instantly. He sat up immediately and looked for his kids, taking a breath of relief when he found them asleep by his side.
“ Hurry, we don’t have a lot of time. We need to leave right now.”, Eva was looking around for threats as she picked up Jaebeom into her arms. Mark didn’t ask any further and tried to stand up, his legs trembling and muscles of his belly still aching pitifully. He picked up his other son and covered him with a blanket Eva brought with her. They were now on their way out of the cell, hiding and walking in the deserted hallway. One advantage of an old stone basement was that cctv was still not installed here.
“ What’s going on sister Eva?”, Mark asked in worry as Eva tries to shush Jaebeom back to sleep.
“ They are coming here to kill him Mark.”, Eva said and Mark’s face paled. He hugged his son close protectively, blood boiling in rage.
“ They won’t even give him a chance? A monster isn’t born but made. My son isn’t one.”, Mark said in anger as they try to walk hurrily towards the exit gates. The church isn’t a place that has great security. Eva easily distracted the few guards that were scattered here and there before coming to Mark’s cell to clear their escape route.
They made out safely but now they are faced with the huge expanse of land full of trees and a road that’s a few metres ahead. Eva looked at him for further command now, her eyes telling Mark that this was it from her side.
“ I can hide him at my sister’s place. She lives near Busan. I promise you Jaebeom will be safe. But..I..I don’t know how to hide..”, Eva didn’t finish her sentence. They can’t hide Jaebeom’s brother anywhere, a fact Mark understood.
“ It’s okay. Leave him to me. Thank you sister.”, Mark said as he hugged Jaebeom close too, tears flowing freely by this point and landing on Jaebeom’s pudgy cheek who was looking at him curiously. Mark smiled at him and kissed his forehead, lingering for a bit.
“ Be safe Jaebummie, baba will come and get you soon okay..I promise.”, Mark said and then nodded at Eva, who held Jaebeom close and ran towards the forest where she parked her car already. Mark knew he can’t afford to waste anymore time but he still kept watching until Jaebeom was out of sight. He then looked at his son and saw him looking back at him again, just like when he was born.
And then Mark ran, he kept running until the sky started to become blue again. He finally reached a gas station and hid in the plants nearby. He started to bleed again, he could feel the red covering his pants and he knew he won’t be able to be conscious for long. He cradled the boy close to his heart, crying in frustration because what can he do? Who wouldn’t take one look at his boy and try to kill him. Who wouldn’t see him as a threat even if it’s just a day old newborn child? He can’t run anymore and he needs to keep himself alive to save his kids in the future.
A truck stopped at the deserted gas station and Mark looked at the driver, who left for the toilet. He looked up then, eyes full of tears. He used to pray when he went on the missions assigned by the church. Everytime he would leave, father Abisai would tell him to pray so that he can return home safely. They told him he was doing God’s work after all. The angels are watching over you Mark, he would say.
“ If any of that bullshit was right, if any of you are actually listening…then you need to keep him safe. Even if I am a sinner like Abisai says, my baby is innocent and YOU WILL PROTECT HIM! You are going to be his halo even if he is a demon’s flesh and blood. This is my prayer today.”, Mark said as he closed his eyes.
He then placed his son in the back of the truck full of wooden crates. He opened one and saw it full of apples. He rearranged the hay in hurry and then placed the boy wrapped in the blanket. He was again looking at his father with his jet black eyes, lips pouty and adorable and it’s breaking his heart into pieces. He kissed his boy on his cheeks and smiled.
“ You shine like the moon, my Yoongi.”, he whispered to him and the boy tilted his head at his father in question. Mark couldn’t help but chuckle between his tears at that.
“ Remember it for me will you? You are Yoongi, son of Mark and Jinyoung. You have a big brother Jaebeom who roars like a tiger and even if ..ev..even if I am abandoning you, you gotta remember that I love you so so much. That even if for a day, you were loved Yoongi..you were loved by your family.”, Mark placed another kiss and closed the crate, leaving the life of his baby on fate.
He stayed hidden in the same spot until he saw the truck driver go away, only came out after he saw the truck leaving on the road at a distance. His eyes finally gave up and he fell on the road, blood pooling between his legs.
He woke up into his cell again but he wasn’t shocked, expecting this to happen. He knew Abisai wont let go of him that easily. He saw him staring at him again from the hallway.
“ Quite the conundrum you have caused Mark. Not to mention you almost exposed us out there, running around with your demon child, sending him away God knows where.”, Mark didn’t answer though. He knew Abisai wants to provoke him but he was hurting right now. He just wants to be left alone.
“ Punish me, that’s all you know to do.”, Mark said as he covers his belly with his arms, already missing his kids who kept him company in this dark cell. The phantom ache in his heart kept pulsing, reminding him how he has lost everything. At least his babies are still alive. He hopes Yoongi is alive too. That the truck driver hasn’t hacked him to death after taking one look at him. He knows average human is controlled by their fear and he is counting on it, hoping that they fear Yoongi and leave him alone.
“ As you wish.”, Abisai says and two guards bring a stretcher forward, a body covered in white cloth on it. They put it down on the hallway and stood back. Abisai crouched down by the body, looking at Mark.
“ I think this will be punishment enough.”, Abisai smiles and opens the sheet, revealing the bloodied face of sister Eva on the stretcher. Mark crawled close to his cell bars and held the iron in his grip, eyes wide in fear as he looks at Eva’s cold eyes staring in space.
“ No..no..Jaebeom..Jaebeommie my baby NO! What did you do to him you bastard? Where is my son?”, Mark screamed as he tried to claw the man’s eyes from inside the cell. Abisai moved back in time and covered Eva’s face again.
“ You were always the smartest one here Mark. Take a guess where your Jaebeom is. I thought about bringing his body here as well but..it was hard to collect a baby’s ashes you know.”, Abisai said and Mark sat down on the ground with a thud, eyes blank as the pain was too much to even function anymore.
His Jaebeom
His poor baby
His one day old son
Burned alive
“ And you said my baby was a monster. Jaebeom was human. MY SON WAS HUMAN! And you fucking killed him. If there is a monster here, it’s you.”, mark said as he held his chest, feeling like his heart would burst out. He slowly laid on the ground, curled into himself as he cried and cried and cried until his tears simply dried, until his eyes couldn’t blink anymore, until he became detached from this cruel world that took everything away from him.
Jimin unloaded the final crate from his truck and groaned dramatically. He had the notepad with him and was doing inventory side by side, when Seokjin entered the warehouse.
“ What took you so long?”, Seokjin said, amused at Jimin’s exhausted sigh.
“ You try to drive these weapons across border. I will ask you then.”, Jimin opened one of the crates and removed the apples and hay, bringing out military grade arrows and gave one Seokjin to inspect.
“ Wow! The Choi’s have outdone themselves. I didn’t expect the shipment to be of such good quality.”, Seokjin smiled and Jimin nodded.
“ Wait till you see the guns I have got. Open the one that’s in the back. You will love it.”, Jimin gestured at the crate and Jin moved to remove the lid in excitement, only to move back a little in shock.
“ Uhm Jiminah? Pretty sure this isn’t what you were talking about eh?”, Seokjin narrowed his eyes and Jimin moved closer for a peek.
“ What the hell…”, he whispered and looked at Seokjin who was looking equally lost. Because on top of apples and hay, there was a baby. Not just any baby but a blue skinned demonic child with eyes black as moonless night, staring right back at them. Seokjin gasped as he spied little wings folded on the back.
“ Call Namjoon..now.”, Jimin said and Seokjin was already on the phone.
The three men stared at the baby that was now lying on Namjoon’s bed. The child was looking at them curiously, blinking occasionally.
“ Why is he staring at us like that? It’s freaking me out.”, Jimin said meekly to Seokjin. Namjoon though, was looking right back at him.
“ Are you and blueberry here having some kind of psychic conversation that we don’t know of.”, Seokjin peeked over Namjoon’s shoulder. Namjoon sighed and then looked at them.
“ I think he is only a few hours old, maybe a day or two at most. He is half human though.”, Namjoon folded his hands on his chest, his mind still full of thoughts.
“ Wait, how do you know he is half human?”, Jimin asked in awe.
“ Because he is a newborn and demons generally don’t produce offspring. They are incapable to do so unless they are with a human. They are born from the fiery pits of hell, either fallen or condemned. They aren’t some kind of species like werewolves or warlocks. They have kind of just existed since forever.”, Namjoon explained and Jimin nodded in understanding. He is still new to all of this after all.
“ Jiminah, did you stop some where in between?”, Seokjin asked this time and Jimin nodded.
“ Yeah at a gas station but only because it was deserted. Not even the night attendant was there. Something strange did happen though. When I drove away from the gas station, I thought I saw someone in the rear view mirror looking at the truck. I didn’t think of anything at that time. I thought he was just a passerby.”, Jimin said, now feeling a bit guilty. What if the man needed help and he simply drove away?
“ At least we know it’s a he. Where was the gas station?”, Namjoon asked but Jimin’s silence gave him an idea that it’s nothing good.
“ It’s.. it was near the church.”, Jimin said after a minute and Namjoon looked at Seokjin in worry.
“ Wait, that means he is been in this crate for seven hours. He must’ve been hungry.”, Namjoon said, a little bewildered that the boy wasn’t crying for food.
“ What do we even feed him though? What do half demon newborns eat anyway?”, Seokjin asked in worry.
“ Let’s start with the basic then. Jiminie, can we borrow one of Hobi’s bottles please?”, Namjoon asked and Jimin nodded hurrily, already out of the room.
“ I’ll go and get the other things too.”, Seokjin said as he placed a quick kiss on Namjoon’s lips and followed Jimin. Namjoon couldn’t help but smile at that. They didn’t even discuss what to do with the infant but Seokjin is already accepting Namjoon’s decision to care for him.
He turned to look at the boy again, who was now staring at the roof. Namjoon came close and took his small pudgy hand in his grasp, smiling a little as he sees the baby trying to grip his fingers tight.
“ You are strong aren’t you? You travelled so bravely huh, already had a road trip as soon as you came into this world.”, the boy was now looking at Namjoon, eyes blinking rapidly as if he was understanding everything.
“ I wonder if your father is alright though. He must’ve fought hard to bring you into this world. He must be hurting so much right now, parting from such a precious child.”, Namjoon mumbled as he looked in front of him. A wail broke him out of his thoughts. He looked at the baby in surprise who was now crying loudly. The wings on his back fluttered with every cry that broke loose out of his little body. Namjoon couldn’t help but pick him up in his embrace, holding him close.
“ It’s okay kiddo. Life and death aren’t in our hands. All we can do is hope, that you will see your family again. Until then, you have us.”, Namjoon slowly rocked him back and forth and the cries died down. When Seokjin and Jimin came back, Jimin took the baby in his hold and fed him from his son’s bottle. The blueberry drank it all up greedily, clearly hungry and then soon dozed off. The trio was then sitting together, exhausted by the sudden turn of events. Jimin placed Hobi on the bed as well, who was also asleep.
“ So we have two babies now. At least Hobi doesn’t have wings and will fly away when we ground him in future.”, Seokjin said and Jimin chuckled at that. The image of a little demon baby flying away from them while the three adults run to catch him was hilarious.
“ My Hobi is an angel to the core. He won’t do anything that would require punishment. Just you wait and watch.”, Jimin said as he looked but then stood up immediately because Hobi was awake and now crawling towards the winged baby curiously.
“ Oh no you don’t you sneaky little squirrel.”, Jimin walked towards the bed hurrily but gasped when saw Hobi trying to climb over his new companion.
“ Guys! Look at this.”, Jimin called the couple over. The three were now in shock to see little Hobi giggling and having the time of his life as the moment he touched the blue skin, it started to transform into milky white. The wings dissapeared and the body turned fair and smooth. The eyes turned into blue irises. Hobi was giggling and trying to headbutt the newborn, who was just staring at this stranger.
“ Oh my little troublemaker! What did you do?”, Jimin asked as he picked Hobi in his arms but the boy started crying loudly, not happy to be snatched away from his new friend. In the end, Jimin had to let go and Hobi crawled up to the newborn, snuggling close and soon both fell asleep again.
“ Looks like we are retiring for next three..four years?”, Seokjin said and both Namjoon and Jimin looked at him thoughtfully. They just witnessed a demon hybrid transforming and if they are willing to keep him, they will have to train the boy, guide him to survive in this world full of challenges. For some reason, it didn’t phase them at all.
“ We can’t keep calling him little demon or blueberry though. Blueberry doesn’t even fit him anymore. He looks like a fresh lump of sugar now.”, Seokjin said again and Namjoon chuckled, looking at the pale skin of their newly acquired charge.
“ Let’s call him Suga for now then. We can figure something out later.”, Namjoon said and the other two nodded. Little lives are precious in their eyes and it seems universe has different plans for them. Who are they to deny it anymore?