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Changmin gets kicked out of heaven.
There really isn't much else to say about it, other than how unfair and totally not his fault it is. He wakes up on Earth, buck naked and with nothing to show for his divine origins but a pair of snowy white wings. He retracts them and sits up, shaking his fist at the sky. It winks back at him, a clear innocent blue.
He's in the back alley of some unknown city, alone and lost and shit it's freezing. Human bodies are so weak.
"You could've at least given me some clothes!" he shouts. There's a high-pitched yowl and a cat jumps out of the alley, knocking over a bin full of old clothes before streaking away. Changmin tugs them on, grumbling under his breath the whole time.
He needs to find a way back in. Heaven could be pretty strict, but they were also merciful, and Changmin hasn't done anything bad enough to warrant a permanent ban. All he has to do is find some sucker in need of a good deed, preferably something that requires a bit of self-sacrifice, and he'll be back home before his seat can get cold.
He ducks into a coffee shop, a welcome respite from the bitter cold outside. The place is teeming with customers and Changmin quickly snags a table in the corner. He watches the humanity coming and going with a bored expression, silently judging each of them from their visible flaws. This one eats her feelings. The old man in the corner is cheating on his wife, if the wedding ring he just slipped into his pocket is any indication. The woman who joins him used to be a hooker. Changmin sighs. The problem isn't finding someone to help - it's deciding who to help. Humans are pretty pathetic when you get right down to it. It's like they go out of their way to make their own lives difficult, and then are surprised when things don't go the way they hoped.
He doesn't even know how to go about doing this. How can he just go up to someone and be all, 'Hi there, you don't know me and I don't know you but I'd like to help you fix your pathetic life. Let's go.' That was unlikely to go down well, especially since he's not very good at being nice to people, which for an angel is pretty ironic.
The bell over the door rings, admitting a blast of cold winter air and a stunningly handsome man. He is taller than most of the people around him, well built with a small, kittenish face. He seems to know the barista behind the counter, because they exchange a nod and he takes a seat without bothering to wait in line. Changmin watches him, his eyes narrowing. This one is hard to read. He smiles at the barista when he comes over to deliver his drink, and they make small talk for a while before the barista leaves. Changmin watches the man sip his coffee, his suspicions rising. In his experience people who look the most normal and friendly tend to hide the darkest secrets, and judging by how friendly this man seems he must be hiding something big. A number of people approach the stranger as he sits there, both male and female, and he smiles that brilliant smile at all of them, but none of them leave with his number.
Changmin smirks, his curiosity aroused, and when the man rises to leave he follows him.
- - -
Yunho knows he's being followed the second he leaves the coffee shop. He doesn't turn to see who it is, maintaining a steady pace as he makes his way back home. His apartment is just around the corner and he nods at the guard in the entrance as he goes in. Whoever it is won't be allowed into the building without proof they live there, but Yunho knows not to let his guard down just yet.
He unlocks his door and kicks his shoes off in the foyer, ears straining for any hint of a sound. There are very few ways into his home - he'd made sure of that when he bought the place - but someone really determined could still get in through the window. There's a thud from his bedroom and Yunho turns his head towards it. He moves soundlessly towards his kitchen, sliding open a drawer just as his bedroom door creaks open.
Yunho draws his gun, spins and aims. The door opens wider and he shoots into the space beyond. There's a yelp, a thud and then a figure tumbles into view. He's tall and lanky, kind of like an overgrown fawn, with big, dark eyes and a generous mouth. He holds his hands up as Yunho takes aim again.
"Wait!"
"Who are you? Who sent you?" Yunho demands.
"Who - what? No-one sent me, I came on my own," the intruder says.
"How did you get in?" Yunho asks. He glances past the stranger - his bedroom window is open, but he's on the tenth floor and there's no way the stranger could have gotten in without some hi-tech climbing equipment. He doesn't appear to have any on him, and his clothes are so shabby it doesn't look like he'd be able to afford them anyway.
"I flew in," the other man shrugs. Yunho stares.
"What?"
"Yeah, look, let's just get this over with." He wiggles his shoulders, and a moment later two feathery white wings extend from his back. Yunho blinks and lowers his gun slightly.
"What - what the fuck?" he says, eloquently.
"My name's Changmin. I'm an angel, but I got kicked out of heaven for something really stupid and now I need to find a way back in. Reckon you can help me?"
Yunho lowers his gun, because it's not right to kill defenseless, crazy and possibly homeless people.
"How'd you do that?" he asks.
"Do what?"
"With the wings. They look so real."
Changmin looks at him like he's stupid, which Yunho finds mildly offensive considering he's pretty sure Changmin is the insane one here. "They are real. Didn't you hear what I said? I'm an angel. Angels have wings"
"Yeah okay, I don't believe that. You're just some crazy homeless guy with an impressive wingspan," Yunho says.
"How dare you. I am a key note in heaven's choir. I once won Aziraphale's flaming sword off him in a game of poker."
"Now I really don't believe you," Yunho says, but he's gone from suspicion to mild amusement. Changmin sniffs and holds out a hand.
"Come here," he says imperiously. Yunho doesn't really want to, but he finds himself moving towards the other man. He raises an eyebrow, grip tightening on his gun. "Give me your hand."
"What? Why?" Yunho asks suspiciously.
"So I can prove to you I'm not lying," Changmin makes an impatient gesture. Yunho extends his free hand slowly, eyeing Changmin as he grips his palm. Their fingers slide together, and a strange, warm feeling shoots up Yunho's arm. He gasps. Changmin is glowing, his wings fluttering as he hovers a few inches off the ground. A dim halo lights his head and Yunho closes his eyes, surprised at the feeling of complete peace that blankets him. He rubs his hand when Changmin pulls away, tingles still spreading through him.
"What was that?" Yunho asks wonderingly.
"Heaven's light. It's how we judge human souls. And you, my friend, are in dire need of a guardian angel. You're lucky I found you," Changmin says, looking pleased with himself.
Yunho is still reeling from whatever Changmin just did to him and can't think of a reply. Changmin seems to take this as an invitation to get comfortable and takes a seat on his couch, looking around his apartment with approval.
"Nice place. Where can I sleep?" he says. Yunho shakes himself out of it.
"What?"
"Your bed is big enough for two I guess, but I'm kinda fussy about my personal space."
"No. Oh no," Yunho shakes his head. "You're not staying here."
"But I'm your guardian angel!" Changmin splutters.
"Guard me from somewhere else. I'm not in the business of taking in strays."
"I have to be near you at all times! How else am I going to help you?"
"Has it occurred to you that maybe I don't want your help?"
"Everyone wants my help," Changmin says, angelically. "I'm who you pray to in your darkest hours, your weakest moments."
"I don't pray," Yunho says flatly. He takes a seat at his kitchen counter and trails his gun in Changmin's general direction. "So unless you've got something to offer me in exchange I'm going to throw you out within the next five minutes."
"I'm offering you divine guidance," Changmin insists.
"I'm talking something a bit more tangible. I'm sure you can think of something," Yunho leers at him. Changmin is pretty easy on the eye after all, and Yunho is not above being bribed with sexual favours. Changmin looks scandalised.
"I am an angel. How dare you make such an immoral pass at me?"
"And I'm an assassin, so it's safe to say I don't do much charity," Yunho says.
Changmin frowns. "That's not the most virtuous of career paths."
"Y'think?"
Changmin's face lights up. "That's it! This is how I'll get back into heaven! I'll turn you into a good person and they'll be begging me to come home. Oh, I'm a genius."
Yunho rolls his eyes. He's not too keen on becoming the pet project of some crackpot who thinks he's an angel. Is an angel. Whatever.
His head hurts.
"You can stay one night, but tomorrow I'm kicking you out," he says, going into his room and slamming the door. If Changmin steals anything Yunho swears he'll hunt him down and kill him.
- - -
Changmin is still there in the morning when Yunho gets up to go to work. He flutters around the kitchen as Yunho makes breakfast, making a nuisance of himself and generally getting in the way. He doesn't eat, but he seems to find the process of Yunho doing so fascinating and steals a few bites of his food when he thinks Yunho isn't looking.
Yunho hustles him out when he's ready to leave and locks the door firmly behind them.
"Look, I think I've been more than accommodating. I let you stay the night. So now just. . .go back to wherever you came from," he says.
"I told you I can't," Changmin says. Yunho makes a frustrated sound and turns away.
"Well you're not staying here and you're not following me to work. And don't break into my house again, somehow I don't think that'll go over too well when you're making your case to the big guy."
"So you do care about me going home," Changmin says brightly.
"No, I just care about you staying out of mine," Yunho says as he leaves.
He works for a covert branch of the Korean government, one that deals with underground criminals and political espionage. There are some places the rule of law just can't reach, and the only justice is the one that comes at the end of Yunho's gun. It's a morally ambiguous area, but he's good at what he does and it pays well so he doesn't question it.
He's glad he doesn't have to go out on a job today, just spend the day training and doing paperwork. His mind is scattered, too pre-occupied to focus on anything for longer than a few minutes. He can't stop thinking about Changmin, the maybe-angel insistent on worming his way into Yunho's life whether he likes it or not. He wonders if Changmin will be gone by the time he gets home or if he'll have to evict him again. Neither thought is particularly comforting.
He gets back to find Changmin curled up in front of his door, his knees drawn up and his arms wrapped around them. He lifts his head as Yunho crouches in front of him and shakes him, and Yunho sucks in a breath as those wide doe eyes fix pleadingly on him.
"Have you been here all day?" he asks, voice rough.
"I have nowhere else to go," Changmin says mournfully. Yunho wonders if all angels are this manipulative or if he's just unlucky. "And my stomach hurts."
"Have you eaten anything? You're probably starving," Yunho sighs.
"I've never had to eat before," Changmin says, following him into his house like a lost puppy Yunho can't seem to shake.
"Yeah well human bodies need food to survive. Here," he places a bowl of fruit in front of Changmin before turning to rummage in the fridge for leftovers. By the time he turns back half the fruit is gone and Changmin's cheeks are bulging.
"S'good," he says with his mouth full. Yunho suppresses a sigh.
"Slow down, you'll make yourself sick."
He watches Changmin eat with exasperated amusement. Changmin is so enthusiastic about everything he puts in his mouth it would be easy to believe he really hasn't ever eaten before. Yunho sits at the kitchen counter across from him and between them they finish his leftovers in record time. Changmin stretches when he's done and pats his stomach.
"Ah, that was awesome. Heaven is missing out," he says. Yunho laughs softly at that and rises to clear their plates. Changmin watches him for a moment before coming to stand beside him at the sink. "I'll do it," he offers. "Since you fed me and all."
"Do you know how?" Yunho asks, raising an eyebrow.
"Sure, how hard can it be?"
Harder than expected, apparently. Changmin manages to get soap over half the kitchen and then almost floods the place before figuring it out. Yunho yells at him for a while, then collapses on the couch and turns the TV on in an attempt to drown out the sounds of Changmin destroying his kitchen. After a while the couch dips and Changmin sits down beside him, holding out a plate of meticulously cut strawberries in apology.
"You know, I think you might just be the most incompetent angel in existence," Yunho comments as he takes a piece. He pretends not to notice the various cuts on Changmin's fingers, no doubt from mishandling the knife. Changmin ducks his head.
"I'm sorry," he mumbles. He looks tired and dejected. Yunho sighs and gets up to find his first-aid kit. He pulls Changmin's hands towards him and bandages his cuts, shaking his head as the angel flinches.
"Just be more careful," Yunho says. Changmin nods, then yawns suddenly and hugely.
"You're not sleeping in my bed," Yunho warns.
"Your couch is too small. My legs don't fit," Changmin whines.
"No."
But later that night when Changmin crawls into bed with him Yunho forgets to push him away.
- - -
He gets used to having Changmin around. After the first few mishaps he learns quickly and proves to be quite good at domestic chores, and Yunho finds it's nice to have someone waiting for him when he gets home. But he leads a dangerous life, and some nights he doesn't come home at all. Changmin worries incessantly about him, claiming it's his duty to watch over him, but Yunho brushes him off. This is his job, and these are the things he has to do to survive. Some nights he comes home with bloodstains on his shirt and Changmin recoils from him, his mouth pressed into a disapproving line. Yunho tells him the people he kills are always criminals, but Changmin maintains that Yunho is better than this, that he can do more with his life. Yunho sighs and resigns himself to these inevitable arguments.
It's a cold night a month after Changmin turned up in his life. Yunho moves stealthily around the containers at the dock, his gun cocked and ears straining for the sound of his target. The drug lord they've been tracking for weeks is on one of the ships docked nearby and it's his job to take him out. He signals his team and they spread out, surrounding a likely-looking barge. There's a thud and the sound of a gunshot, and then a man from his team emerges on the deck. He sways for a second before falling into the water and Yunho realises their cover's blown. They've been expected.
He whirls around as a volley of bullets rain down on them and ducks for cover, dodging the men on the dock and swinging himself onto the barge. A man shoots at him and Yunho shoots back, killing him with a bullet through the heart. He shoots a second bodyguard down and runs towards the back of the boat. There's only one place the man he wants could be hiding, only one room in the barge secure enough to house him. Yunho kicks open the door and ducks as a guard shoots at him, bringing the man down and forcing the fight out into the open. He ducks another attack and spins, kicking out and hearing the satisfying crunch of bone breaking. He moves fast in the dark, but the bullets fall dangerously close to him and he doesn't know how they're targeting him so well. A mirror hangs on the wall and as he spins Yunho catches sight of a single white feather stuck to his back, glowing in the darkness. He yanks it off and rolls behind a crate.
"Changmin," he breathes. Light spills onto the deck and a moment later morphs into the shape of the angel. Yunho's jaw drops open.
"You called?" Changmin says.
"What the hell are you doing here?"
"You said my name so I came. It is my duty as your guardian angel to be at your side in your hour of need."
"Get down!"
Yunho yanks Changmin down beside him as a flurry of bullets lodge themselves in the wall where he'd just been standing.
"Is that man shooting at us? How uncouth," Changmin says.
"Just shut up and stay down," Yunho says, rising from behind their crate to kill the last guard. That just leaves the drug lord, a fat old man who moves surprisingly fast despite his girth.
"I'd offer to help but it's physically impossible for me to kill a human," Changmin says.
"Please don't help, you'll only get in the way," Yunho says. There's a reason he makes it a point to be in teams with people he doesn't know too well. Worrying about their well-being would distract him from doing his job, and right now worrying about Changmin is stopping him from killing a man he'd normally dispose of with no trouble. Yunho rolls out from behind their crate and springs to his feet, shooting the last of his clip just as the fat man ducks for cover. He misses, and Yunho throws his gun aside. He kicks the cover away and reaches for his other gun, but the man rushes at him and pushes him back, trapping him against the wall with a gun pointed right at his head. Yunho freezes.
From the corner of his eyes he sees a movement as the man pulls back and takes aim. He shoots just as there's a flurry of wings and a scream rips through the darkness. His opponent stares, frozen in surprise as Changmin crumples to the floor. Yunho takes the opportunity to kill the other man before sinking to his knees beside Changmin. Crimson blooms across the feathers of his left wing, a bullet lodged deep in the bone. Yunho shakes his head and gathers Changmin in his arms, careful not to nudge his injured wing.
"Idiot. You idiot, I had it under control," he mutters, standing with Changmin cradled in his arms. Changmin can only whimper in response, his eyes glazed over with pain.
Yunho doesn't know how he manages to get Changmin home. There's no question of taking him to the hospital with his wing like that, but Yunho has enough medical training to patch him up. He holds Changmin down and extracts the bullet from the mess of blood-stained feathers, gritting his teeth as Changmin cries out and sobs into the pillow. Yunho murmurs soothing nothings, shaking sweat out of his eyes as he bandages the injured wing and gives Changmin something to put him to sleep. Changmin drops off with one hand clutching Yunho's, his forehead furrowed in pain.
Yunho stares down at the angel for a long time after that. His hands are covered in blood and feathers, and there's a whole trail of them from his front door to his bedroom. He sighs and extracts his hand from Changmin's and Changmin makes a soft sound in his sleep, curling up tighter.
Yunho cleans up and takes a shower, glad to let the hot water soothe his aches. He closes his eyes under the spray and sees the scene again in slow motion, Changmin leaping to place himself between Yunho and his opponent, his wings furling out like a shield. His scream as the bullet pierced him. Yunho thinks that scream will haunt him in a way none of the dying sounds of the countless people he's killed ever will.
He changes into sweatpants and a t-shirt and makes a quick call into headquarters, updating them on how the mission progressed and promising to come in early the next day. Yunho knows he should take responsibility for their dead comrade and go in right now, but he's got more important things to deal with. When he goes back into his room Changmin's arm is dangling off the edge of the bed and his eyes are open a sliver. Yunho sits on the floor beside him and brushes Changmin's hair off his cheek, his fingers lingering a little longer than necessary.
"You saved my life," he says softly.
"S'my job," Changmin slurs.
"Right. So you can get back into heaven."
Changmin is silent so long Yunho starts to think he's fallen asleep again.
"S'not just why," Changmin mumbles. Yunho's fingers stroke his cheek again and he turns his head into it, breathing out against his palm. Yunho pulls his hand away and replaces it with his lips.
Changmin freezes against him. It's a chaste kiss, no more than a dry press of their lips together, but Yunho feels it in every corner of his being. He presses harder and Changmin gasps, his lips parting under Yunho's mouth. Their breathes mingle, hot and sweet, and in some corner of his mind Yunho thinks, so this is what it's like to kiss an angel. It's pretty fucking fantastic.
He pulls away eventually and meets Changmin's eyes. His gaze is bright and hooded and he's trembling a little. Yunho wonders if anyone has ever kissed him before.
There's a bang from the living room and the moment is over. Yunho shoots to his feet and Changmin struggles upright, following him out at a slower pace. His wings trail sadly behind him.
A woman is standing in the living room, dressed in robes of pure white with dainty white wings extending from her shoulders and a halo around her head. She has a sweet, cherub-like face and she smiles at Yunho as he pauses in the doorway to stare.
"Seohyun!" Changmin exclaims, moving around Yunho to beam at her. Her expression changes as she sees him and she scowls.
"You are shameless, Shim Changmin. Getting kicked out of heaven and then trying to use this poor human to win your way back in. You make me sick," she says. Changmin rolls his eyes.
"Yeah yeah, spare me your pontifying. Did it work? I'm back in right?" He looks so excited Yunho feels a little stab in his chest. Does Changmin really hate being here that much?
"You wish," Seohyun says.
"But I was totally self-sacrificing! I just saved his life! Look at my wing," Changmin turns to show Seohyun his injured wing. Yunho feels another stab and clamps down on it quickly.
"You weren't self-sacrificing, you were an idiot. He had it under control," Seohyun says, raising an eyebrow at Yunho. Changmin turns to him.
"Yeah, I kinda did," Yunho says, and feels a little twist of satisfaction as Changmin's face falls. Seohyun smirks and flips her hair back.
"You've been treating this like a game, so heaven has decided to charge you with a Task," she says. Changmin groans.
"Not a task! They're so specific. Can't I just do my good deed and come home?"
"Then you'd learn nothing from this experience."
Changmin sulks, but he has little choice in the matter. He indicates that Seohyun continue. She clears her throat and extracts a scroll from her robes.
"Shim Changmin, for your disgrace and being cast from heaven you are charged with the Task of keeping the human Jung Yunho alive," she reads. They both stare at her.
"That's it?" Changmin says when she doesn't say any more. Seohyun rolls the scroll up.
"Yep, that's all of it. Just keep him alive."
"For how long?" Changmin demands.
"Until you've learnt your lesson."
"What! That's bull-"
"Shim Changmin you will watch your tongue," Seohyun says sternly. Changmin makes a frustrated sound, throws his hands in the air and retreats back into the bedroom, slamming the door behind him.
Silence falls in his wake. Yunho sighs, and looks up to find Seohyun smiling kindly at him.
"You're a good man, Jung Yunho," she says. Yunho raises an eyebrow.
"That's not something I hear often."
"Anyone willing to put up with Changmin must have the patience of an angel," Seohyun says. Yunho looks away. Her smile is a little too understanding.
"Yeah well it hasn't exactly been a walk in the park," he mutters. To think, just moments ago he'd been kissing Changmin and now he feels as removed from him as though they’re from different planets. Which when he thinks about it they kind of are.
"It'll get easier," Seohyun says. Her profile is starting to fade. "He can be pretty rash but his heart's in the right place."
There's a blinding flash of light and Seohyun is gone. Yunho groans and collapses back on the couch. He's too tired to think about everything that's happened today, too tired to go into his bedroom and deal with Changmin. He's asleep within minutes, and when he wakes in the morning under a warm blanket neither he nor Changmin comment on it.
- - -
They don't talk much about that night or the task Changmin's been charged with. Yunho only goes so far as to comment that God must think he's in danger of an early death, and Changmin raises an eyebrow at him and asks if he can be blamed. It's clear the task chafes at him and being stuck in the house only worsens his mood. He can't go out with his wing injured and unable to be retracted, so he takes to cleaning the house with a fury that scares Yunho. He comes home one day and barely recognises the apartment. It's not that he's a total slob, but he's a bachelor practically married to his job and it doesn't leave much time or inclination for domesticity.
"Since when have I had a rice cooker?" he asks, eyeing the appliance with suspicion.
"Since I dug it out of the pantry," Changmin says from the lounge. Yunho yanks open a drawer, finds neatly organised cutlery where something quite different should be and scowls.
"Changmin! Where are my guns?"
"The kitchen is no place to keep those things," Changmin appears in the doorway, looking bored and moody. Yunho glares at him.
"Don't move my things without my permission."
"I'm just doing what's best for you," Changmin drawls. "Weaning you off your sick obsession with killing."
Yunho slams the drawer closed. "I do not have an obsession with killing. It's just a job," he grits out.
"Whatever," Changmin turns around and slouches away. Yunho glares at his retreating back, then slumps against the fridge with a groan.
The problem is that fighting with Changmin isn't half as frustrating as fighting his attraction to Changmin. They haven't spoken of the kiss or what it meant, but a subtle tension hangs in the air between them and it's making it unbearable for Yunho to be around Changmin. He starts taking on more and more dangerous missions, staying away sometimes for days on end. He knows it makes Changmin fret over him and he takes a small measure of satisfaction from that for reasons he's not even sure of. He falls faster and harder than Changmin fell to Earth, his thoughts constantly occupied by the beautiful angel.
The day Changmin's wings heal enough for him to retract them at last they both breathe a sigh of relief. Some of the tension fades from between them and Yunho suggests they go out to celebrate. They do dinner and a movie and then end up at the coffee shop near Yunho's apartment, and Changmin finally tells him why he followed Yunho home that first night two months ago. Yunho laughs at the fact that it was his friendliness that aroused Changmin's suspicions, because that's just so typical.
"I found out you lied to me, by the way," Changmin says, sipping his caramel macchiato. Yunho raises an eyebrow in question. "That first night you told me you don't do charity, but I checked your file and you're registered with two."
"What - how'd you get a hold of my file?" Yunho demands.
"I got Seohyun to send it down," Changmin shrugs, and it occurs to Yunho that this might not be the same kind of file he's thinking of. It's weird to think that heaven keeps tabs of his good deeds - he likes to do them in secret so they can't be used against him. Changmin searches his face curiously.
"There was one for homeless children and one for victims of domestic abuse. Any significance?" he asks. Yunho shifts uncomfortably.
"I'm an orphan," he says at last. It's strange that they've never talked about his past before, but then neither of them is the type to be easily forthcoming. "I know what it's like not to have a home. No child deserves to experience that."
Changmin's eyes are bright with some unnamed emotion. "And the other one?" he asks softly.
"That's not my story to tell," Yunho says simply, and Changmin accepts it with a nod. The barista comes over to ask if they want a refill and Yunho introduces him to Changmin. Heechul has been friends with Yunho for a long time, and he coos over Changmin like he's a new toy, praising his long legs and handsome face and calling them an adorable couple. Changmin shifts, looking embarrassed, and Yunho quickly corrects Heechul.
"We're not a couple," he says. Heechul flicks up an eyebrow.
"Could've fooled me," he says. Yunho wishes he wasn't always so blunt.
"Get me a refill," he says, shoving his mug at Heechul, who rolls his eyes at him before sashaying away.
Changmin darts glances at him the whole way home. He's fidgety and preoccupied, and Yunho finally snaps as the door shuts behind them.
"What?" he demands. Changmin shoots him a startled look, then shakes his head and looks away.
"Nothing," he says.
"Just spit it out."
"I -" Changmin licks his lips. "You said we're not a couple."
"We're not," Yunho says, his heartbeat speeding up.
"Why not? That night when you kissed me I thought. . .but then you never said anything and I didn't know what to do. . ." Changmin trails off, looking lost and unsure. Yunho stares at him.
"I didn't say anything because there's no point pretending you're here for anything but as a way to get back home," he says. Changmin's head snaps up.
"What?"
"Isn't that how it is? Aren't I just a means to an end?" Yunho advances on him, suddenly angry, and Changmin shrinks back against the wall. "Isn't that all I mean to you?"
"I - maybe at first, but - " Changmin hesitates.
"But what?" Yunho asks, pitching his voice low. Changmin shudders and closes his eyes.
"But not anymore," he whispers. Yunho takes hold of his chin and turns his head, his breath ghosting over Changmin's lips. Changmin makes a soft sound and arches up, and Yunho seals their lips together. They melt into each other, arms rising to tug and pull one another closer. Changmin makes soft little mewls against his mouth that enflame Yunho. He leads them down the hallway and into the bedroom, lips ravaging Changmin all the while. Yunho pushes him down on the bed and crawls over him, a growl catching in his throat as Changmin moans and arches into him.
"Yunho, Yunho," Changmin breathes, writhing as Yunho sucks a bruise on the side of his neck. His hands slide down Changmin's body, over his stomach and down to his thighs and Changmin gasps.
"Wait - wait -" he whimpers. Yunho pulls back with a frown.
"What is it?" he asks, stroking the side of Changmin's face. Changmin's cheeks flush a rosy pink.
"I - I've never done this before," he says. Yunho pulls back entirely and stares at him.
"Seriously?" he says.
"Angels are celibate. I've never had a human body before, never f-felt like this. . ."
A virgin angel. Of course he is. Changmin talks a tough game, but he's as innocent as a newborn lamb beneath that. He's trembling now, eyes wide and scared, as though he thinks Yunho might take him anyway. As if he'd do that when Changmin looks so terrified. He snorts and gets off the bed, gritting his teeth as his erection strains painfully in the confines of his pants.
"Yunho?" Changmin whispers.
"It's ok. Forget it. You're obviously not ready and I don't want to rush you."
Changmin nods mutely, his eyes following Yunho as he ducks into the bathroom and closes the door behind him with a snap.
- - -
Though that first time ends in a less than ideal way, it opens the door to a wonderful new aspect of their relationship. Changmin is so honest in his desires, as though he doesn't know how to hide what he's feeling, and those desires clearly include wanting to jump Yunho every chance he gets. By the end of the week they've made out on practically every surface in the house, and although Changmin is still too shy for things to progress further Yunho finds that he doesn't mind. Changmin is a sweet and responsive lover even if they aren't having sex. He tries not to think of the consequences of being in a relationship with a supernatural being and just focuses on enjoying the fact that he's in a relationship with a fucking supernatural being. Changmin glows when he's happy, a visible white light surrounding him that shudders through Yunho in the most delicious ways whenever he touches it. Yunho wants to spend the rest of his life making Changmin happy.
He walks in on Changmin grooming his wings with a brush in the bathroom late one night. He's completely naked, and Yunho does a double take before turning away.
"Jesus - put some clothes on!" he barks. Changmin looks at him with those big, innocent doe-eyes.
"The feathers will get all over them," he says.
"What are you even doing?" Yunho says, trying not to ogle him too much.
"Wing maintenance, chapter 5 of the angel manual," Changmin replies promptly. "We have to clean them once in a while or they can get all sorts of infections. There isn't much need in heaven but earth is so filthy I've had to do it every month here."
"I don't know if I'm more surprised angel wings can get dirty or that you lot have a manual. You obviously didn't pay much attention to it."
"Obviously," Changmin grins. He turns around and wriggles a little. "Can you give me a hand? There's a bit near my shoulders I can't reach."
Yunho takes the brush from him and runs it carefully through his feathers. He likes touching Changmin's wings. They're so soft and downy, and Changmin shivers as his fingers brush over the bone underneath.
"There's black stains on some of these - have you been flying over industrial areas again?" Yunho says. Changmin shifts guiltily.
"I'd have to wash them anyway, there's so much pollution in the air here," he mumbles. Yunho leans closer and breathes in Changmin's ear.
"Want me to help with that too?" he asks. Changmin shudders, his lips parting to release a soft mewl.
"Uh - sure. If you'd like," he stutters. He moves to turn the shower on and Yunho grins, stripping off in record time. He's glad his shower is fairly big, otherwise it'd be a tight fit with both of them and Changmin's wings. He turns Changmin so that his back is to him, lathers his hands up with shampoo and runs them through his wings. Changmin makes a pleased little sound and tilts his head forward, the warm spray running down his chest as Yunho massages shampoo into his feathers. He's like some beautiful, overgrown bird, murmuring happily as Yunho shampoos first one wing and then the other.
Once they're both nice and frothy he turns Changmin around so the water can beat down on his wings. Now that they're facing each other their eyes meet and Changmin blushes, hyperaware of their nudity. Yunho kisses him, his hands reaching back to run over his wings. He massages the spot where the bone melds into Changmin's back and the angel gasps into his mouth. Yunho does it again and Changmin moans, kissing him with increasing desperation. Yunho grins and pulls back a little.
"That's a strange erogenous zone," he laughs. Changmin pulls him down for another kiss.
"I didn't even - mm - know I had it." He groans as Yunho massages the spots with both hands, shoulder blades writhing and pushing back against him. Yunho can feel Changmin getting hard against his thigh. He turns the angel again and slides an arm around his waist, mouth sucking bruises on his neck.
"Squeeze some shower gel on my hand?" he says. Changmin fumbles in the shower rack for his watermelon-scented gel and squeezes a generous amount onto Yunho's upturned hand. Yunho lets the gel slide over his palm, then reaches down and wraps his hand around Changmin's cock.
Changmin gasps, his head falling back against Yunho's shoulder as he starts to stroke. The water beats down around them, making everything wet and slippery as Changmin writhes and pushes up into his hand. He has his eyes closed and his teeth buried in his lower lip, muffled sounds escaping him under Yunho's ministrations. Yunho slides his other hand up Changmin's chest and brushes against a nipple. Changmin moans loudly, then cries out as Yunho twists the nipple between his fingers. His hand moves faster over Changmin's erection, the warmth of the water negligible against the heat rising between them.
"Yunho - I can't -" Changmin gasps.
"Come on angel. Come for me," Yunho breathes in his ear. Changmin groans and arches up, his release splattering on the tiles as he writhes and shudders in Yunho's arms. He collapses against him when he's done and Yunho kisses every inch of him he can reach, his shoulder, his neck, his cheek and finally his lips. Changmin moans and turns in his arms, stroking the sides of his face as they kiss.
"Thank you," Changmin murmurs. His wings drag wet and heavy behind him as he shuffles back and glances down at Yunho's erection, red and weeping against his stomach. Changmin licks his lips. "I want to suck you," he says, bold in his post-coital haze.
Yunho groans and buries a hand in his hair as Changmin gets on his knees, his wings spread out in a white swathe on the tiles behind him. He curls his fingers around Yunho's cock and licks experimentally at the head. Yunho throws his head back, lips parting in a pant as Changmin starts to suck. He's obviously never done this before, but what he lacks in finesse he makes up in enthusiasm. Yunho guides him, telling him what feels good and what doesn't and Changmin gets the hang of it quickly. He bobs his head and starts to suck in earnest and Yunho knows he won't last, not with the way Changmin is stroking him at the same time. He glances down and groans at the sight of his cock in Changmin’s mouth, the slick sounds of sucking impossibly loud over the spray of the shower. Changmin's eyes flutter open and rise to meet his and Yunho is gone. He tugs Changmin's head back and strokes a couple of times before coming on his face with a moan, covering him in trails of pearly white seed. Changmin looks surprised, and Yunho feels a little bad for debauching him thus, but there's no denying he's going to get off on the image of Changmin on his knees with his come all over his face for many, many days to come.
He helps the angel to his feet and they clean off. Changmin seems a little confused by his post-orgasm lethargy, stumbling around on unsteady legs like a newborn foal. Yunho grabs him and dries him off, then scoops Changmin into his arms and carries him to the bedroom. He dries his wings until they're warm and fluffy and practically glowing and then Changmin retracts them and rolls over. He holds his arms out for Yunho and Yunho slides into his embrace, curling around him until they fit together like matching jigsaw pieces.
"I love you," Changmin whispers, wide eyes searching his face. Yunho kisses him, presses him so close it's hard to tell where one of them ends and the other begins.
"I love you too," he whispers into Changmin's mouth, and Changmin swallows the words as he repeats them again and again and again.
- - -
Yunho is making dinner one night when he feels a presence behind him. At first he thinks it's Changmin, but then an unfamiliar voice says 'hello sexy' in his ear and he whirls around.
The figure skips back with a cackle. He's pale with a thick tuft of brown hair. A pair of horns curl out of his head and a thin red tail flicks behind him.
“What the – ” Yunho starts. There’s a crash from the lounge and Changmin bursts into the kitchen.
“Kyuhyun, you little shit!” he yells, launching himself at the newcomer. They go down in a heap and Kyuhyun laughs and rolls them as Changmin tries to hit him. He pins the angel and Changmin growls, his hand shooting out. A flaming sword appears in it and Kyuhyun dodges as he swings down.
“Hey come on, that’s uncalled for,” Kyuhyun protests, dodging faster than Yunho can follow as Changmin bears down on him. Yunho wonders if he should intervene, but a gut instinct tells him this is one fight he shouldn’t get involved in.
“I’d send you to hell if you weren’t already there you demonic little turd,” Changmin growls. Kyuhyun laughs and slides a sly look at Yunho.
“The rumor mill’s going crazy about you Changmin. Is that him? You could’ve picked someone easier, this one’s already halfway to hell,” he smirks. Changmin makes an angry little sound and grabs the front of Kyuhyun’s shirt.
“You stay away from him,” he snarls.
“I will if he will,” Kyuhyun sing-songs. “He’s so far gone his soul’s practically mine already.”
“That’s not true!” Changmin says. “There’s good in him, I’ve seen it – ”
“Aw come on Changmin, stop kidding yourself. He kills people for a living, there’s no way heaven’s letting that one slide.”
Yunho has never seen Changmin look so incensed. For the first time since he met him he looks powerful, an awful and terrible being from another world. The sword flames brighter and Kyuhyun eyes it warily, his demon eyes reflecting the light.
“Get out,” Changmin hisses.
“Hey come on, I already said I was sorry and you know how hard that is for me. Demons don’t like admitting we’re wrong.”
“Get out!”
Kyuhyun sighs and disappears with a crack, leaving nothing but the faint smell of smoke behind. Some of the tension leaves Changmin and he glances at Yunho.
“Are you ok?” he asks. Yunho nods mutely, still too much in shock to really articulate anything. Their conversation spins through his head. They were talking about him, fighting over him – no, over his soul. He stares at Changmin.
“Who was that?” he asks, simply because it seems like the easiest question right now. Changmin’s face darkens.
“Kyuhyun. He’s a demon,” he says. Yunho continues to look expectant since that tells him basically nothing new and Changmin sighs. The flaming sword disappears from his hand and he leans against the kitchen doorway as Yunho checks on their food. “He’s the reason I got kicked out of heaven.”
“Really? What happened?” Yunho asks. He’d asked Changmin this once before but Changmin had brushed it off, saying it was for something stupid. Changmin snorts and crosses his arms over his chest.
“Kyu’s actually my best friend. I snuck him in one day so we could play the new Halo, but we got busted and they kicked me out. I don’t know if they were angrier that I snuck a demon into heaven or that we were playing Halo. God hates Halo.”
Yunho doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Wait, let me get this straight. You got kicked out of heaven for sneaking your demon friend in there so the two of you could play video games?”
“It was a slow day?” Changmin says.
“Oh my god. My guardian angel is an idiot. No wonder I’m so messed up.”
“Hey, I resent that!”
Yunho just gives him an unimpressed look. Changmin’s lips twitch.
“Ok so it was a pretty stupid thing to get kicked out for,” he admits.
Yunho laughs because the only other option would be to cry.
Later that night he wakes to find Changmin gone and the sound of simulated explosions coming from the living room. Yunho shuffles into the room and sees Kyuhyun and Changmin going head-to-head on his little-used Playstation 3, a huge bag of popcorn sitting between them.
“Human food is the best,” Kyuhyun says, shoving a handful in his mouth. Changmin takes the opportunity to kill his character on the screen.
“I’m taking as much as I can carry back with me,” he says as Kyuhyun curses.
Yunho shakes his head and goes back to sleep.
- - -
It’s a dream that’s too good to last.
Yunho takes on a new case, a mafia conspiracy that has everything from corrupt politicians to North Korean spies. The finer details of the case are lost on him, but he knows who his next target is – the head of the North Korean spy ring. It’s a delicate job because he lives with his family, and they are under express orders not to hurt his wife and children.
The heist is a disaster. The man knows they’re coming for him, and his wife turns out to be an expert in martial arts who gives Yunho such a good run for his money he’s sure for a second he won’t make it out alive. He manages to subdue her, but her daughter gets killed in the crossfire. Yunho and his team clean up and leave, and endure getting chewed out for their incompetency for three hours back at headquarters.
Yunho gets home exhausted and depressed, trying not to think of the little girl’s scream as his bullet had pierced her. He’d been aiming for her mother but the woman had been too quick. Dark storm clouds gather overhead and a fat raindrop splashes on his cheek as he ducks into his building. The storm breaks just as he pushes his door open, thunder crashing overhead and lightning illuminating the dark house.
“Changmin?” he calls, advancing into the lounge. He finds the angel out on the balcony, getting soaked by the rain. Yunho pushes the door open. “What are you doing?” he asks.
Changmin turns to face him slowly and Yunho sucks in a breath when he sees he’s crying, eyes red and shoulders trembling. He stumbles back in surprise and Changmin moves blindly into the room, his breath choked on tears.
“What have you done?” he whispers.
“What – ”
“What have you done? She was innocent!”
“It was a mistake!”
Changmin only sobs harder, shaking his head. “She was an innocent. You killed an innocent, Yunho.”
“I didn’t mean to,” Yunho breathes, swallowing hard.
“Kyu was right about you. I can’t save you.”
“Changmin, stop it,” Yunho reaches for him but Changmin recoils from him, shaking his head.
“Don’t touch me! You reek of death. You reek of innocent death.”
He curls in on himself in a corner and cries and cries, and Yunho doesn’t know if he’s crying for him or the girl he killed. Thunder crashes overhead and lightning splits the room, splits them apart.
- - -
Changmin refuses to speak to him for a week. Yunho alternates between being angry at him for not understanding and being angry at himself for being the way he is. He requests jobs that keep him out of the house for long stretches, but the hunt has lost its thrill. Changmin is changing him, turning him into someone he doesn’t recognise. He throws up after every kill for a week, something he hasn’t done since his early days as a trainee, and the agency tells him to take some time off. Yunho refuses, because the thought of being stuck in the house with a Changmin who refuses to acknowledge him is even more unbearable than going out on a job. He tries to keep it going, to fake it and pretend things are the way they always were, but he can’t lie to himself. Nothing is the way it was, least of all him.
He takes refuge in the coffee shop near their place when he’s not on a job (because his apartment is no longer his, it’s theirs and Yunho doesn’t even know when that happened). Heechul doesn’t ask too many questions, but he provides free refills for Yunho until he finally breaks down and demands why Heechul hasn’t asked him why he’s there so much. His friends shrugs.
“I figured you’d tell me eventually when you were ready,” he says. Yunho groans and runs a hand through his hair.
“I had a fight with Changmin,” he says to his knees.
“So you two are together. Why’d you lie to me?” Heechul demands.
“We weren’t when you asked,” Yunho says. “Kind of. I don’t know. It’s complicated.”
Heechul rolls his eyes. “So what’d you fight about?”
Yunho doesn’t even know where to start. He knows it’s not just about the little girl he killed. It’s about him, about what he does and how much Changmin hates it and how it makes him want to be a different person for the angel. A better person. It’s about how he can’t seem to separate his emotions from his work anymore, how each job makes him sick to his stomach lately.
“I can’t do it anymore Heech. I thought I could but it’s too hard now. I can’t separate myself from it when I’m on the job. My victims haunt me. . .”
“Well it’s about time,” Heechul snorts. “I’m surprised you lasted this long.” Yunho gives him a confused look and Heechul sighs. “Yunho, look at you. You’re too good for this. The only reason you did it in the first place was because the agency snapped you up when you were young and it was the first place you got to call home. But it’s not right for you. You may owe them your life but you don’t owe them your soul.”
His soul. An awful lot of people seemed to be concerned with it lately and Yunho doesn’t even believe in any of that spiritual crap, which is ironic considering he’s living with an angel. He sighs and leans back in his chair.
“It’s not like I can just quit,” he mutters.
“Why not?” Heechul says. “Listen, there’s something I haven’t told you. . .”
Yunho gets home with his head spinning. He wonders where Changmin is, if he’s still mad at him and how much begging he’ll need to do for that not to be the case anymore. The house is dark, but a dim light is visible from beneath the dining room door. Yunho pushes it open and pauses on the threshold.
There are candles on every surface of the room, casting it in a soft glow. A veritable feast is spread out on the table and Changmin straightens from placing the last dish down as Yunho walks in.
“Hi,” he says softly, flicking his hair out of his eyes.
“Hey,” Yunho says. He’s a little lost for words.
“I made dinner,” Changmin shifts nervously, his eyes flickering up to meet Yunho’s before looking away again. Yunho moves closer to him, one hand sliding up to cup the back of Changmin’s neck.
“It looks amazing,” he says. Changmin turns his head and kisses him, their lips sliding together and clinging for long moments.
“I’m sorry I got so mad,” Changmin says when he pulls away.
“I’m sorry I made you so mad,” Yunho says. A weak smile flickers across Changmin’s face.
They eat in relative silence, eyes flickering up frequently to meet each other. There’s an air of suppressed excitement around Changmin mixed with nervousness, and Yunho thinks he has an idea of what he’s got planned. His suspicions are confirmed when Changmin takes his hand and leads him to the bedroom. More candles light the space and rose petals are scattered across the duvet. Yunho laughs and it makes Changmin blush.
“It’s too much isn’t it? Sorry,” he mumbles. Yunho pulls him into his arms and kisses him.
“It’s perfect,” he says, placing a peck on Changmin’s nose.
“I saw it in a movie and it seemed like a nice idea,” Changmin admits. Yunho melts a little.
“You’re so fucking cute I could die,” he says, and claims Changmin’s lips again. They stumble towards the bed and Changmin falls on it with an ‘oof’ of surprise. Yunho covers his body with his own and kisses him like it’s the last thing he’ll ever do, his hands buried in Changmin’s hair as the angel gasps and mewls into his mouth. He tugs on Yunho’s shirt, fingers sliding beneath to run over his stomach.
“Please,” Changmin gasps. “I want you.”
Yunho pulls back and looks down at him, all flushed and needy and so perfect it makes him ache deep inside. “Are you sure?”
Changmin nods and Yunho falls on him with a groan, kissing him again and again. They undress each other slowly, taking their time as the candles burn lower. Changmin is breathtaking in their soft glow and the sounds he makes as Yunho kisses his way down his body go straight to Yunho’s cock. He rises up on his knees and fumbles in the bedside table drawer for lube, groaning as Changmin rubs up against him in the interim. He puts his hands on Changmin’s thighs and spreads them, stroking the soft, quivering flesh as Changmin blushes and bites his lip.
“This will hurt a little,” Yunho says, and Changmin nods. He squirts lube onto his fingers and lowers them to Changmin’s entrance, pushing one finger in slowly. Changmin grunts, his brow furrowing before he relaxes and allows the intrusion. Yunho pats his stomach, cooing praises as he pushes in a second finger and scissors them. Changmin pants, trying to relax even as his whimpers increase. Yunho spends a long time preparing him, kissing him until Changmin starts squirming impatiently and pushing back against him.
“Come on,” he groans, and Yunho laughs breathlessly against his lips. He pulls his fingers out and slicks himself up, hitching one of Changmin’s legs over his shoulder as he starts to push in. Changmin cries out and tenses against the pain, his nails digging in Yunho’s back. Yunho stops, gasping at the tight heat that grips him.
“Baby you need to relax,” he pants. He dribbles more lube where their bodies join, gasping as Changmin clenches around him.
“Okay. Okay,” Changmin gasps. He relaxes slowly and Yunho pushes in all the way, their cries lost in each other’s mouths. He starts to move, setting a slow pace, and Changmin throws his head back. Incoherent sounds tumble off his lips as Yunho thrusts into him. He pauses to change the angle, trying to find that spot, and Changmin cries out suddenly and arches up. Yunho grins, aiming for that same spot again and Changmin almost screams, his nails raking red lines down Yunho’s back.
“Oh – right there – oh please,” Changmin groans, pushing back against him. Yunho buries his face in his neck and thrusts harder, wanting to feel Changmin break under him. His moans rise in pitch as their pace gets faster, sweat streaking their bodies. Yunho licks at the hollow of Changmin’s throat, unaware of anything but the perfect, beautiful creature writhing under him.
“God, Changmin. You’re perfect, you’re so fucking perfect,” he gasps. Changmin tugs his head up and kisses him, open-mouthed and desperate as Yunho wraps a hand around him and jerks him off. He shudders and throws his head back, hips snapping up with increasing desperation as he teeters on the edge.
“Yunho, please, please,” he gasps. Yunho thrusts in hard, hitting that spot dead centre and Changmin cries out, spilling between them as his orgasm crashes over him. He clenches around Yunho over and over, tugging the other man over the edge with him and Yunho groans into his neck as he shudders and fills Changmin.
They lay like that for a while, just trying to catch their breath. Yunho rises up on his elbows and gazes down at Changmin. He has his eyes closed and his head turned into the pillow, sweat streaking the long line of his neck. For the first time he truly looks like the fallen angel he is, and Yunho feels like a brute for spoiling him, for taking his innocence away. But then Changmin opens his eyes and smiles at him, and Yunho forgets everything but how much he loves him. He leans down to kiss Changmin and they shift into a more comfortable position. Changmin groans as Yunho slips out of him, rubbing his thighs together.
“Oh, I’m quite filthy right now,” he says, glancing down at himself.
“It’s a good look on you,” Yunho says, and Changmin laughs softly. He tucks stray strands of hair behind Yunho’s ear, caressing his face for a long moment.
“I don’t want to leave you,” he says, voice low. Yunho’s arms tighten around him.
“I thought you wanted to go home,” he says softly.
“I am home.”
Yunho buries his face in Changmin’s shoulder so he won’t see how bright his eyes are and Changmin strokes his hair until they fall asleep, curled up tight around each other.
- - -
Yunho wakes early out of habit. He has the day off, so he’s in no hurry to get out of bed. Changmin is sprawled across him, snuffling quietly in his sleep and Yunho smiles down at him. He runs his hand up and down Changmin’s back for a while, but when that fails to get a reaction he proceeds to press kisses down the length of Changmin’s throat. Changmin swats at him sleepily, rolling off him when Yunho bites down on his shoulder.
“Stop it, m’sleeping,” he whines. Yunho grins and licks the spot he bit.
“What, no morning sex?” he asks, pouting in a way that’s completely lost on Changmin because his eyes are still closed.
“Not while I’ve still got your cum on my thighs. I’m not that much of a slut,” Changmin mumbles into his pillow. Yunho laughs and rolls out of bed. Changmin has a point – they’re still kind of gross from last night, and he hops in the shower before wandering into the kitchen to make breakfast. He’s sitting on the couch with his laptop open in front of him and a piece of toast in his mouth when Changmin shuffles in, wearing a bathrobe and still looking half asleep. He collapses on the couch next to Yunho and settles his head on his knee.
“It’s too early,” he yawns.
“It’s 10am!” Yunho says.
“I hate your sleeping habits.”
“Deal with it angel,” Yunho smirks. Changmin steals his toast in revenge. A comfortable silence falls between them, broken only by the sounds of Changmin chewing and the tap of Yunho’s keyboard. Eventually he looks down at Changmin’s head on his lap only to find his eyes closed, the last piece of his toast dangling off his fingers. Yunho shifts his leg and Changmin jerks.
“Changmin, wake up,” he says. Changmin mumbles noncommittally. “Come on, I need to tell you something important.”
“What is it?” Changmin yawns, rising onto his knees. Yunho swallows and rests his fingers on the keyboard.
“I’m leaving the agency,” he says. Changmin’s eyes widen and he suddenly looks a lot more awake.
“What? Seriously?”
“Seriously. I can’t do it anymore and I know how much you hate it, I just – ” Yunho gets cut off as Changmin flings himself at him, kissing him square on the mouth. Yunho laughs and kisses back for a moment before pushing him off gently. “Okay, okay, just let me finish. I’m handing in my resignation next week and then we’re moving to Paris.”
Changmin blinks at him. “Paris? Why Paris?”
“Heechul just bought a majority share in a financial holding and he wants me to manage their Paris branch.”
“What? How can Heechul afford something like that?”
“He’s actually from a really rich family,” Yunho says. “But his dad was an abusive asshole so he ran away from home when he was thirteen. We met when we were both homeless and wandering the streets. Anyway, now that the old bastard’s dead at last Heechul’s finally come into his inheritance. I offered to kill him before but Heechul wouldn’t let me. He’s weird like that.”
Changmin stares at him, a number of things suddenly clicking into place. He winds his arms around Yunho and slides into his lap. “You know, you turned out a lot better than you could have.”
“See, I have this really amazing guardian angel – ” Yunho says, before Changmin cuts him off with a kiss.
“Paris?” he says when they draw apart. Yunho smiles and tugs him back.
“Paris.”
- - -
The agency isn’t glad to hear he’s resigning. He’s one of their best, and he’s been with them so long it’s actually a threat to national security for him to leave knowing the things he does. He has to sign a million different waivers and restrictive covenants to prevent him from leaking his knowledge to anyone. Yunho doesn’t mind – he knows replacing him is going to be a headache for the whole branch.
They ask him to do one last job before he goes. Yunho wants to decline, but he’s already putting the team through so much hassle and he’s been with them too long to want to leave on a bad note. He agrees after some hesitation and kisses Changmin goodbye on the night of the job with the promise that he’ll be back soon.
They’re one man short for the mission but it’s not anything complex, just a routine check on a mafia lord they’ve been tracking. Yunho hasn’t even been assigned a target, acting more as a bodyguard than anything tonight. He’s glad for that, because the thought of having to make some last, symbolic kill makes his stomach churn.
They steal through the forest on the outskirts of the mansion where their target lives, passing between the trees like black shadows. Yunho can’t shake the feeling that there’s something terribly wrong about the whole set-up. There are no guards on the perimeter and the house is too dark and quiet. Experience has taught him to follow his instincts, and he’s conveying his misgivings to their team leader when an arrow whizzes through the darkness and lodges in the tree beside him. The head blinks red and Yunho flings himself back just as it explodes, inches from where he was standing a second ago. Shouts and the sound of gunfire shatter the night air and Yunho rolls to his feet, gritting his teeth. It’s an ambush. They’ve been set up, and now he’s watching his team fight for their lives around him because their informant is a snitch who’s going to die for this. But only if he makes it out alive.
Yunho dodges a second arrow and shoots at the man with the bow, dropping him before turning to kick at an opponent trying to sneak up on him. He goes down with the man and they roll, their guns flying out of their hands. Yunho abandons any attempts to find his in the dark and draws a second gun from his belt. He presses it against the other man’s head and his opponent freezes. Yunho stares down at him, a split second of hesitation rocking him. A moment later pain rips through his shoulder and he cries out. His hesitation has cost him – he’s been hit from behind, and blood drips down his shirt as he kill the man beneath him and struggles to his feet. Yunho turns to face his attacker, dodging his kicks and trying to aim for a clean kill. Pain slows him down, and he takes a second bullet to the leg.
Yunho falls back against the forest floor, breathing hard as he tries to aim his gun at the man bearing down on him. He has no idea where the rest of his team is, or whether they’re even still alive. The gun is kicked out of his hand and his opponent stares down at him with cold eyes before shooting him through the chest.
Yunho jerks, choking on his own blood as the man moves away. Breathing is getting increasingly difficult, and he can feel his lifeblood seeping out of him onto the forest floor. His vision swims, and his breath rattles out of him in a death knell.
“Changmin,” Yunho whispers. “Changmin.”
Light spills through the forest, illuminating the carnage of dead bodies on the ground. Changmin materialises in the still air and spins on the spot, his gaze frantically searching the bodies on the ground.
“Yunho! Yunho!” he calls, stumbling through the trees. He spots the other man on the ground next to a tree and drops to his knees beside him, gathering Yunho’s broken body against his. “No, no, no, no,” Changmin chants, desperately trying to stem the flow of blood with his hands. Yunho coughs and lifts a hand to caress his face.
“Changmin,” he whispers.
“No, no, you can’t die, you can’t leave me,” Changmin cries, shaking him. Yunho closes his eyes.
“I love you,” he breathes.
“No,” Changmin sobs harder. Clouds gather in the sky and it starts raining. Changmin tilts his head back and screams his grief into the deluge. “Take me instead! Please. . .don’t take him, take me instead. . .”
Thunder crashes overhead and lightening forks towards the ground. A voice booms within the storm, the voice of destruction and salvation, mercy and retribution. You would take his place?
“Yes! Please, just don’t let him die, don’t let him die,” Changmin begs. The storm rages harder, and then the voice comes again.
It is done.
Light pours through him and sinks into Yunho, his life force pulled out in one fell swoop. Changmin gasps, hunching over Yunho as his wings are ripped out, unfurling from his shoulders without his doing. He sees Yunho stir, sees his eyes open and widen at the light surrounding Changmin. The rain stops and a strong wind picks up, wrapping around Changmin as the light emanating from him becomes brighter and brighter. His lips form three little words, hand reaching to clasp Yunho’s before his head falls back and his profile blurs. There’s a blinding flash of light and Yunho covers his eyes, and when he lowers his arm again Changmin is gone.
- - -
Things look different once you’ve been gone for a while.
Changmin finds that he can’t settle back into his old life no matter how hard he tries. Part of him is glad to be home, having unwittingly completed his task when he offered to sacrifice himself for Yunho. Another, larger, part of him is cold with longing, with an ache that goes too deep for him to express. He grows listless and withdrawn, spending long hours staring moodily off into space or stalking Yunho’s goings on down on Earth.
Yunho is stronger than him. Changmin watches him grieve over his loss and then fortify himself and move on. A month after Changmin leaves he packs his things and moves to Paris, and builds a new life for himself there, though Changmin is pleased to see that he never takes another lover. He spends weeks on end just watching Yunho, drinking in the sight of him as he goes about his daily life and feels crippled with loss. It’s not enough to just watch him from afar, not when he knows what it feels like to hold Yunho in his arms, to kiss him, to love him.
He’s watching Yunho read under the summer sun a year after his return to heaven when Seohyun finds him. She sits beside him and watches through the clouds with him for a while before placing a hand on Changmin’s arm.
“Changmin,” she says. He makes a sound of acknowledgment but doesn’t look away. “Changmin, you need to snap out of this.”
“I can’t,” he says. “This is not some – some phase that’s just going to go away. It’s not like the time we spent a year sneaking into hell to get drunk with Kyuhyun before Saint Peter busted our asses.”
A smile flickers across Seohyun’s cherub face. “Good times,” she says softly. She rubs a hand down Changmin’s arm. “I’m worried about you.”
“I love him,” Changmin whispers. He feels tears well up and tries to choke them down. “I love him Seohyun. I can’t move on.”
“He’s only a human,” Seohyun says. She looks a little alarmed at the desperation etched on Changmin’s face.
“I don’t care,” Changmin says fiercely. “I wouldn’t care if he was a demon. He’s mine and I – ” Changmin closes his eyes. “I gave myself to him.”
Seohyun gasps. “You didn’t!”
“I did. I did and I’d do it again, I don’t care what you say – ”
“Changmin what have you done?” Seohyun says despairingly. “If someone finds out. . .you’ll be kicked out of heaven, for good this time.”
“Maybe they should find out,” Changmin says, lifting his chin defiantly. Seohyun shakes her head and glances down again. Yunho has fallen asleep in the sun, his book open on his chest.
“You would give it all up for him?” she asks. “Become human for him?”
“Yes,” Changmin whispers. Seohyun gives him a sad little smile.
“I’ll miss you,” she says. Changmin gathers her close and hugs her tightly, rocking her against him.
“Come visit sometime. I’ll hook you up with a sexy human of your own,” he says. Seohyun laughs as she untangled herself from him.
“No thanks,” she says.
“Yeah, Kyu would get jealous anyway.”
Seohyun blushes furiously and kicks out at him and he dodges it with a laugh.
- - -
Autumn in Paris is Yunho’s favorite time of year.
His first autumn had been cold and lonely and he had been crippled by homesickness, which manifested itself in a vicious cold that refused to leave him for weeks. This year is shaping up to be much better. He’s made friends with the waitress at the bakery near his apartment and spends long hours keeping her company on slow days and snagging free muffins when she’s not looking on busy ones.
He knows the figure sitting at his favorite table before he even sees his face. He knows him from the slope of his back and those long, slender legs that go on forever. Yunho knows he should be shocked, but instead all he feels is an incredible sense of completion, like a missing jigsaw piece has slotted into place over his heart. He’s been waiting for two long years, and the wait has been more than worth it.
“Hello angel,” he says as he slides into the seat across from him. Changmin puts down his coffee and smiles at him, that gorgeous, brilliant smile of his that takes Yunho’s breath away. “I knew you’d come back to me.”
“One out of two, not bad,” Changmin says. “I did come back to you, but I’m not an angel anymore. I’m all human, and I’m not going anywhere this time.”
Yunho stares at him, equal parts shocked and delighted at this announcement. “You did that for me?” he asks, voice awed. Changmin shrugs.
“I made a pretty crappy angel anyway. Bad attitude or something,” he says.
“And you’re terribly cranky in the morning,” Yunho says, nodding slowly.
“I don’t particularly like people either. Big part of the job, liking people.”
“You think food is more important than world peace.”
“I once locked the gates of heaven so new souls couldn’t get in because I lost a bet with Kyuhyun.”
There’s a pause where they just look at each other. Yunho’s shoulders shake with laughter.
“Wow, you made a terrible angel,” he says.
“I was such a bad angel I was practically a demon,” Changmin says, and he’s laughing too now. Yunho doesn’t know what he’s missed more, Changmin’s laughter or his self-professed bad attitude. He draws Changmin out of his chair and takes him back to his place, kissing him in the entrance as the sunset hits his doorway and slants across Changmin’s cheekbones.
“Welcome home angel,” Yunho says, and Changmin’s answering smile is the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen.