Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“We have a problem.”

Lang looked up from his desk, a scowl already shadowing his features. “Then solve it,” he said, not breaking eye contact with Tony.

Surely Lang didn’t have to do everything.

“I would love to do that—but I’m afraid I can’t.”

“You can’t what? Be fucking useful for once?”

Tony scoffed, and stepped closer. “I am plenty useful, Buddha, and we both know it. I purely don’t want to get involved with this particular problem.”

“You still haven’t explained what the problem is.”

Tony shrugged. “The problem is Yuno Sykk.”

There was not a single shift on Lang’s face. “Who the fuck is Yuno Sykk, and why is he a problem?”

“He’s been working at Rooster’s Rest.”

“And?”

“And we never hired him.”

“So what? That’s just free labor.”

“Not when he’s giving away food for free. It’s been weeks, Lang. He’s probably cost us thousands of dollars in lost profit.”

Lang scowled. “Why hasn’t Leyla taken care of him then? What the hell do I pay her for?”

“She’s tried, Lang. It’s just not that simple.”

“What the fuck do you mean ‘not that simple’?” This was really starting to piss Lang off.

“He doesn’t listen. He always comes back, no matter what Leyla says.”

“Then make it so he can’t come back—I’m not seeing the problem here.”

“You don’t want to do that.”

“Why not?”

“He has the whole city under his thumb. If we hurt him, we might as well sign our own death warrants. CG, GG, Vagos, every single motherfucking gang in this city would destroy us.”

This didn’t make sense. If this Yuno fellow was truly that powerful, then why hadn’t Lang heard of him? He knew pretty much everyone in the city. Tony must be jerking at his chain, lying through his teeth.

“Deal with it, Tony, this is my final warning.”

Tony’s mouth set into a tiny line. ”No.”

Something dangerous flickered in Lang’s eyes. Shadows danced at the corners of the room, and Lang felt them stir inside of him. Tony shifted uncomfortably, but he stood his ground.

“You will handle this, Tony.”

“No, I won’t. I’m not touching that with a ten foot pole. This Yuno person, he’s not one to underestimate. You can threaten me all you want—but it won’t change my mind.”

This was fucking stupid. Tony had faced down everything from Jean Paul to Mr. K, what the hell was one measly little demon?

“Fine, fine,” Lang said. “Be like that, I’ll deal with it then.”

Tony snorted. “Good luck.”

“I don’t need luck—I’m a motherfucking demon prince.”

One of the stronger ones, too. There was no way that this Yuno Sykk stood a chance. Lang would deal with him quickly and then he could go back to his papers. He would prove Tony wrong.

All it would take was a little bit of time, and some research.

***

The next day, Lang laid in wait at Rooster’s Rest.

He watched person after person walk through the doors, mentally comparing them to the descriptions he’d gathered of Yuno. He searched for the glowing shoes, the black helmet, and the green suit, which nearly every person he’d asked mentioned. It was such an odd arrangement of items that it should’ve been easy to spot. This entire thing should be easy.

The problem was—Yuno didn’t show up.

Lang waited and waited and Yuno never came. He would’ve been convinced that Tony was fucking with him, had Leyla and half a dozen other employees not cooberated his story. Clearly, Lang had underestimated this Yuno guy.

Either he was deliberately avoiding Lang, or he somehow didn’t show up on the one day that Lang had decided to wait for him, when he’d been there nearly every single other day. It was either insanely bad luck, or someone had snitched on Lang.

Some part of him expected the latter.

You could never trust anyone in this motherfucking city.

“Any luck?” Leyla asked.

Lang shot her a vicious glare. “You’re fucking with me, Leyla.”

“Afraid not, perhaps he’ll come tomorrow?”

***
He did, in fact, not come tomorrow.

Lang waited for an entire week; every day he was at Rooster’s Rest, and every day, right after he left, a man with a black motorcycle helmet and glowing shoes would appear. Lang would only hear about it later, of course, and whenever Leyla called him about it, by the time he got there, the man had left.

It was like playing cat and mouse, but the mouse was far too smart for its own good.

Lang didn’t know if Yuno had people on the inside, or if he had a natural sense for danger, but it was fucking exhausting chasing a man who clearly didn’t want to be found. A part of Lang knew it would be better to give up now, to just let the man do his thing –Lang had millions of dollars, what was a couple thousand lost? But then again, it was never about the money.

It was about the principal.

This motherfucker had stolen from him—and Lang couldn’t let that slide.

He would catch this little mouse.

Eventually.

***
“Don’t fucking say it.”

Tony couldn’t hide his smile and Lang wanted to shoot the arrogant motherfucker. This didn’t prove anything. So what if Yuno had avoided him for an entire week? It just meant that Lang had to try harder. He would stop their rodent infestation. It would just take time.

“Say what, Lang?”

“You know what, dipshit.”

“I’m sorry—I think you’ll have to be more specific.”

Lang snorted. “You slimy bastard.”

The only response was a muffled laugh. Tony inched closer to the table that had become Lang’s home for the past week, the table that Lang had waited pointlessly for their little mouse to appear. He really needed to get back to work—it was piling up on his real desk—but he couldn’t give up.

It was a matter of pride at this point.

“You should come to the party tonight,” Tony said.

“What did I ever do to give you the impression that I want to party?”

“I don’t know, man, you’re so gloomy all the time. It would do you some good.”

“I’m not wasting time on a motherfucking party—”

“But you’ll waste time sitting at a table for hours and hours?”

Lang’s mouth slammed shut. “That’s different.”

“Sure, sure, whatever, it’s a shame, really.”

“What’s a shame?”

“I heard that a certain helmeted man is going to be at the party tonight.”

Lang’s heart skipped a beat. He couldn’t help when he sat up a little straighter in his seat, instantly alert, his golden eyes practically glowing with interest. “He’s going to be there?”

“That’s the word on the street—apparently he’s good friends with Raymond.”

Of course he was.

Perhaps Lang should’ve tried harder to ask around. He’d done his best, asking everyone he’d learned was affiliated with the elusive man, but every time he’d asked for a location, or any personal details, really, beyond a physical description, he was meant with stubborn silence.

It was a loyalty that Lang hadn’t expected.

No one would even tell Lang what he looked like underneath that helmet.

For all Lang knew, Yuno Sykk could be sitting across the restaurant right now, having discarded his helmet and glowing shoes in favor of more casual clothes. He could be that blond haired freak in the corner, or that woman with long brown braids —because who knew if Yuno was actually a guy?

He could’ve very well been a girl who just had a deeper voice.

There was no way of knowing.

“So–what do you say?”

“About what?”

“About the party—you going?”

Like Lang would miss it. This was his one chance to finally track down the little rat who’d infiltrated his restaurant. He’d be a fool if he missed out on a chance like this one. If Raymond Romanov was throwing a party, then almost everyone in the city would be going.

Even if Yuno wasn’t good friends with the man—there was no way he’d miss it.

All Lang had to do was get ready.

***

A few hours later, Lang was dressed in his finest.

A crisp white suit, with a blood red tie. He liked how it contrasted his darker hair and how it highlighted the black flecks in his eyes. It made him seem more vicious, more cutthroat, which was exactly how Lang wanted to be perceived.

He would only have one chance with this Yuno fellow—so he had to make it count.

For a while, he chatted aimlessly with a few of the guests, his eyes always on the door. He was starting to lose hope when it was about an hour in and he’d seen not a single helmet in sight. Tony had ditched him nearly immediately—leaving to hook up with some girl, no doubt.

It left Lang feeling pissed and a little crabby.

He struggled to reign in his temper but the small talk was past the point of a chore. It was starting to become torture to keep talking to these useless idiots, a bunch of demons that Lang didn’t give a flying shit about. He didn’t care about their petty drama, or their silly squabbles.

Lang had an empire to run.

The entire world seemed to slow to a halt. There, across the room, finally, after days and days of waiting, was the one man that Lang had wanted to find above all else.

A dark helmet, green suit, bright glowing shoes—he was impossible to miss.

Even if he wasn’t wearing his signature clothes, Lang was certain that he’d be able to pinpoint Yuno in a crowd. His physical appearance wasn’t very dramatic, he had an average height and an average build, but the way people flocked to him, now that was something special.

Every single person in a ten foot radius stopped and stared, some joining in the conversation, others with a soft smile clouding their features. Yuno was constantly surrounded by people laughing and joking, their faces alight, their conversation easy and careless.

He was like the sun that everyone else orbited.

Lang didn’t know how he hadn’t seen it sooner.

His heart beat faster in his chest and his palms were slick with sweat. It didn’t make sense for him to be this nervous, this unsure, about meeting someone. He had no idea what type of demon Yuno was. Lang would’ve guessed incubus, maybe, for how impossible it was to look away, but there was nothing sexual or romantic about the way Yuno held himself.

It was a mystery that begged to be solved and although it would’ve been wiser to deliver a warning and nothing else, to protect his business and leave, Lang couldn’t help but make it interesting. He was far too intrigued by this little mouse, who may or may not turn out to be a lion.

“May I have this dance?”

Yuno startled and glanced toward Lang. There was no seeing his expression beneath his helmet, but Lang could’ve sworn that he stood up a bit straighter, that he was that much more alert in Lang’s presence. Perhaps he’d heard of Lang.

That wouldn’t be surprising.

Most knew who he was—and most also hated him for it.

“It would be my pleasure,” Yuno said. He took the hand offered to him and Lang couldn’t help the little jump that his pulse did when their fingers connected. He tugged the other demon toward the center of the room, and Yuno allowed himself to be pulled into a slow dance.

The other couples slowly fell away, until they were the only ones left.

Lang was a little surprised that Yuno knew the steps. This song was rarely taught to lower demons, which made it a symbol of status. He had no idea where Yuno had picked it up.

From the way he held himself, he obviously wasn’t a prince of hell.

Not like Lang was.

“You are a hard demon to track down,” Lang said.

Something like a chuckle escaped Yuno. “I’ve been told as much.”

“You were avoiding me.”

“Avoiding, coincidentally leaving, who’s to say.”

“So you admit that you know who I am?”

“Oh, I didn’t say that.”

Lang couldn’t help his scowl. His fingers were practically digging a hole into Yuno’s shoulder, but the other demon didn’t react. There was no telling what he was thinking beneath that helmet.

“Stop playing games, motherfucker.”

“It takes two to dance, Mr. Lang.”

The anger was curling into a whip inside him. This motherfucker knew who he was—he was just messing with Lang. He clearly found this whole situation funny, and although his helmet hid his face, it couldn’t hide the amusement in his voice.

That pissed Lang off.

His business wasn’t a joke. This situation wasn’t a joke.

“You’ve been causing problems,” Lang said, forcing his anger back.

Yuno’s voice lifted. “What kind of problems?”

“The kind that interferes with business. Your little freebies are costing me thousands of dollars. The restaurant will go bankrupt at this point.”

“Oh.” Yuno stilled for a moment. He seemed to be digesting that bit of information, letting it seep past his helmet and into his brain. “I didn’t know.”

“You didn’t know? What the fuck kind of excuse is that?” Lang couldn’t hide his incredulousness. Someone couldn’t be that blind, couldn’t be that oblivious. Yuno had to have known. What the fuck did he think was happening when he kept giving away things for free?

“I just–I figured you’re so rich already, what harm is a few hamburgers?”

“Bullshit, who paid you to fuck me over? I know you’re working with someone.”

Yuno was so close to him. Their bodies had drifted closer throughout the dance, and Lang wished that he could see Yuno’s face. It was hard judging a faceless enemy. Lang had no idea if Yuno was about to strike, if he was about to bite Lang’s face off, or if he was truly as innocent as he appeared.

“I’m not working with anyone—I’m alone, I swear it.”

“You’re lying.”

Yuno shook his head. “I’m not, I am sorry about the hamburgers, though, I didn’t know how much it was costing you. I didn’t mean to cause any trouble. I just didn’t want people to starve.”

“They won’t starve if they fucking buy the food.”

“Some people can’t afford it.”

“Then they should get a fucking job.” Lang didn’t care if his words were unreasonable. He wouldn't let his restaurant turn into a charity foundation. He was a motherfucking demon prince. He didn’t have to listen to anyone. He could spend his money exactly how he wanted to spend it.

No one would tell him differently.

But something about Yuno was different than before. It was clearly a touchy subject for him. Lang was kind of surprised that Yuno had money problems, considering that he always wore a suit, then again, it was always the same suit. Perhaps that wasn’t merely for convenience.

“I’m sorry,” Yuno whispered.

Lang thought he’d misheard. “What?”

“I’m sorry,” Yuno repeated, stronger this time.

There was no mistaking those two little words. Lang couldn’t hide his shock. No one said sorry in Los Santos. It was simply not something that someone did. Admitting to regret, to guilt, that was a gateway to losing everything. It was admitting that you were lesser. It made you weak.

But goddammit, the way Yuno said it, it didn’t sound weak.

“You don’t mean that,” Lang said. He tried to grasp onto his anger, to hold it tight to his chest, but already, it was slipping through his fingers. There was something altogether charming about Yuno.

It was easy to see why so many flocked to him.

“I do mean it, Mr. Lang. I always say what I mean.”

Now that was a flat out lie. Everyone lied in Los Santos. It would be insane not to.

“So you won’t be returning, then?”

Yuno let himself be spun around once, before he settled back against Lang. His hand found the crook of Lang’s back and Lang couldn’t help the shiver that swept through him. Hell, Lang wondered what was beneath that helmet. He found himself wanting to know more about this elusive demon, someone who had somehow managed to avoid him for days, who had only relented once neither of them was on higher ground, at a neutral location with hundreds of people.

It was the smartest move available—but the question was, did Yuno realize that?

Was this all one big calculation? Or was he as clueless as he seemed?

Lang could’ve sworn that Yuno was grinning when he said, “I guess you’ll have to find out tomorrow.”

“That’s not a good idea.”

“Why not?”

“You don’t want to do this.”

“I think I do, actually.”

His anger simmered bright and hot. He couldn’t believe this arrogant demon. If he thought that he could actually win against a prince of hell, then he would soon learn he was mistaken.

“I’m not a forgiving man, Yuno.”

Yuno shrugged. “I’m not afraid of you.”

“You will be,” Lang promised. He could destroy Yuno if he wanted to. He could rip him apart limb from limb, he could watch him bleed out on the ground in front of him, all things he had done before. It would’ve been so easy. A single flick of his wrist.

Something, however, stopped him.

Yuno laughed, the sound soft and light. “We’ll see about that one, Mr. Lang. Most find that I’m not one who scares easily.” There was a challenge in his voice. Like he wanted to find out just how scary Lang could be, but that was ridiculous.

No one would be that stupid.

“I will kill you, you know, if you return.”

The song fluttered to a close. Lang let his hand drop from Yuno’s shoulder.

Yuno shrugged. “Everyone dies eventually.”

There was something altogether wrong about that statement. Demons were vicious hoarders of their own lives. There were few things demons feared, but death, death was one of them. He had never heard another demon sound so flippant about their own life.

Like death was only another adventure.

Lang didn’t have the chance to say anything else. Raymond Romonav appeared, dressed in a fine red suit, the color of spilled wine, his dark hair falling suggestively over his face, and something like a smile splattered across his features.

It was an unprecedented sight.

Raymond Romanov never smiled.

Grinned, sure, but smiled?

Only his wife had managed to drag it out of him–and, somehow, Yuno.

“Habibi, it’s so good to see you again!” Ray swept Yuno into a bear hug, his smile radiant and warm. Yuno stiffened a little at the contact but soon, the two of them were gone. There wasn’t a single introduction or goodbye spared for Lang, and he couldn’t help the sting of it.

Ray was supposed to be one of his boys.

Who the fuck did he think he was—ignoring Lang like that?

It was a conversation that would have to be saved for later. Lang couldn’t bring himself to argue about it now, not when his brain was still reeling from his dance with Yuno. The demon was still such a mystery to him. They’d had a whole ass conversation, and Lang still couldn’t figure him out.

Normally, after just seeing someone, Lang knew every little thing about them.

The fact that he didn’t with Yuno, the fact that he couldn’t tell, now that was goddamn terrifying.

***
“Good news, Tony.”

Tony glanced up from his plate, squinting at him. “It’s never good news.”

“It is this time.”

“Then spit it out already, motherfucker.”

Despite his words, Tony kept eating, and didn’t spare Lang another glance. Clearly he thought Lang was exaggerating. That, or his hangover was worse than Lang had thought. He’d gotten home blackout drunk from the party last night. Lang could only hope he hadn’t done anything stupid.

“I solved our problem,” Lang said.

Tony blinked a few times. “What problem?”

“Our Yuno problem, duh, the one you thought I couldn’t solve.”

For a couple moments, Tony said nothing. He seemed to be gauging if Lang was serious or not. He was staring hard, and Lang wondered if he was secretly trying not to throw up all the food he’d just eaten. It wouldn’t surprise Lang in the least if that was the case.

That’s when Tony laughed. It was loud and harsh, and fuck it, but Lang was getting goddamn sick of people laughing at him. He wasn’t joking, and his life wasn’t a fucking comedy. He slammed his hand down on the table and instantly, Tony fell silent.

Lang couldn’t hide how his fists were trembling.

Practically shaking with anger.

Tony would respect him, or they would have a new problem on their hands.

“Sorry, sorry,” Tony said, his hands raised in a placating gesture. “I didn’t mean to laugh, I just, well, you haven’t heard, yet, have you?”

“Heard what?”

“Nothing, really, it’s just that someone showed up at Rooster’s Rest again this morning. I went down for a burger and bam, there he was.”

“No, that’s not possible.”

“I know what I saw, Lang, he’s a hard man to miss.”

Lang had hoped that Yuno had heeded his warning, despite his flippant words. Only a fool would have ignored the threat of a demon prince, but clearly, Yuno fancied himself a fool. He’d apologized and like an idiot, Lang had believed him.

Of course Yuno wasn’t actually sorry.

No one was ever sorry.

A snarl ripped itself from Lang’s throat. His anger swirled into a raging inferno inside him and shadows flickered at the edges of his vision, coming to life with his fury. He could feel their tentative, whispering touches, could feel how they begged to be unleashed. They wanted to reign hell upon the earth, to hurt the one who dared to defy him.

Normally, Lang would’ve been happy to oblige.

This time, however, something was different.

“I’ll deal with it,” Lang promised.

“That’s what you said last time.”

“Yeah, well, last time I was being nice. This time I won’t hold back.”

He would make Yuno sorry for defying him. It would’ve been easy to kill the man now, to send his shadows after him. Yuno would be dead before night fell.

Still, that felt a little too easy.

Lang had to have some fun first. It was clear that Yuno didn’t fear death, so Lang had to give him something new to fear. A nightmare that he could never wake up from.

This time, Yuno would not dismiss him so easily.

This time, Lang would be the one laughing.

Chapter Text

Yuno wasn’t one for sitting still.

He was constantly moving, running from roof to roof, always fidgeting or doing something. He almost didn’t notice his phone ring. He would’ve missed the call for sure if he hadn’t glanced down at the perfect moment and realized it was buzzing.

The name on the phone made his heart skip a beat.

He wasn’t surprised, no, he’d known he would be getting a call soon. He’d learned from Ray that Mr. Lang had asked for his number, and he’d heard from about a dozen other people that Mr. Lang was asking around about him.

This wasn’t a surprise—so then why was his heart beating so fast?

Yuno forced himself to sit still for just a moment. He propped the phone against his ear, and tried in vain to slow his hammering heart, to keep his voice calm and steady. “Mr. Lang, how’s it going?”

“Yuno, I need to know how good you are at fucking hacking.”

Now that was a surprise. Yuno hadn’t realized that word had spread of his hacking. Perhaps Dundee had let it slip. He was overjoyed when Yuno had one-shotted that bank, so blabbing wouldn’t be completely out of character for him. Maybe he’d bragged to the wrong person.

Either way, Yuno didn’t know where Lang was going with this.

“I’ve never failed before,” he admitted. “Why?”

There was a beat of silence. “You ever hacked Paleto?”

Oh.

Yuno saw where Lang was going with this.

Maybe he was a fool for saying what he did next, but Yuno lived for the thrill. For the danger. And God help him, but Lang was all those things and more. There was something insanely intriguing about the demon, possibly the most powerful demon in Los Santos, yet for some reason, Yuno wasn’t scared.

Did that make him crazy?

Probably.

“Nope, I’ve never done Paleto.” He hesitated, then said, “You need a hacker?”

“I’m a fucking hacker—but word on the street is that it’s a lot faster than it used to be.”

The city was constantly updating its security. Yuno didn’t blame them, really. It was hard to have nice things in a city full of demons who broke things for fun.

“I’m in,” he said.

Mr. Lang didn’t respond for a few seconds. He was probably surprised that Yuno had agreed so readily. A part of Yuno was surprised too. He knew that it was stupid, and reckless, that there was no way he should take Mr. Lang’s request at face-value.

He’d been fucking over his business for weeks.

If anything, this was probably a trap.

Though why Mr. Lang would go through so much effort when he could just kill Yuno—now that was a mystery that Yuno intended to solve. He just needed time.

“Alright, let me talk to the boys.” Mr. Lang seemed to be done talking and Yuno expected him to hang up. He wasn’t expecting what followed after, “I wouldn’t have called, but I heard about you one-shotting that bank, and no one else picked up. You’re my last hope, Yuno. I can’t fail this job. I need to know how good you are.”

Mr. Lang seemed desperate.

He needed a God-like hacker.

And, much to Yuno’s annoyance, that description fit him a little too well for comfort.

“Like I said, I’ve never failed before.”

“Okay—”

“I’ve only ever hacked once in my life but–”

“You’re fucking with me.”

“I’m afraid not, don’t sweat it, though. Like I said, I’m not someone who scares easily.”

“I’ve realized that, yes,” Lang said, a little dryly.

Yuno couldn't help his laugh. “Good luck, Mr. Lang.”

“You’re the one who needs luck, motherfucker.”

Later, after the call ended, Yuno realized that Mr. Lang was right. There was an interesting sensation in his stomach, a feeling of weightlessness that was both exhilarating and terrifying. It had appeared only twice, both times when he was talking to Mr. Lang.

It was foolish to trust a demon.

Yuno knew that—so why didn’t he say no?

Perhaps this city was really getting to him. His parents did warn him that demons corrupted all those around them. Yuno had dismissed them at the time, but maybe, just this once, they were right.

That thought terrified him more than Mr. Lang ever would.

Chapter Text

This was almost too easy.

Yuno was so trusting, so naive. He’d readily agreed to hack a bank, to do a crime that could land him with years in prison, with someone who’d threatened to kill him only a few nights prior. Either he was insanely confident that he would get away—which was unlikely, given his driving history—or the thought of betrayal hadn’t even crossed his mind.

And why would it, really?

Every demon in this fucking city loved him.

It was clear that Yuno had never been betrayed before, and Lang would take pleasure in being his first. It was a fitting punishment for someone who was a constant thorn in his side. Once in prison, Yuno wouldn’t be able to interfere with Rooster’s Rest anymore, and even better, he would spend every waking moment thinking about this one.

How good it had felt to be wanted, to be needed, only for it to be torn viciously away.

Perhaps Lang truly was evil.

He certainly felt like it.

“You really think this is a good idea?” Tony asked.

Lang shot him a dark look. “Why the fuck wouldn’t it be?”

“Well, you know, he and Ray seem close.” Tony looked over at the two demons, both of whom were huddled deep in conversation. Ray had a casual hand on Yuno’s shoulder.

“So what?” Lang asked. “I don’t see why that matters—we’re just hacking a bank.”

“Really? You honestly expect me to believe that?”

Lang shrugged. “Yuno believes it, so that’s all that matters.”

It was clear that Tony knew Lang didn’t have pure intentions. He’d known Lang long enough to realize that he wouldn’t forgive and forget so easily. He could only hope that Tony would keep his damn mouth shut long enough for Lang’s plan to work.

“Is the escape plan all ready?” Ray seemed to have finally separated himself from Yuno. Both of them were looking at him and Tony expectantly. Lang couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

They could’ve helped out. If they weren’t so distracted with each other.

“It’s all ready,” Lang said. It didn’t escape his notice that Tony said nothing, which was fine. He preferred the silent treatment anyway. It was better to keep his own plan from being noticed.

Before anyone could ask too many questions, Lang maneuvered them to the car. He turned the radio up all the way and when they got a hostage, he was hardly listening. He was too lost in his own scheme, in how good it would feel to finally catch his troublesome mouse.

At the bank, he immediately went to the back.

He set up the laptop and tried not to let his nerves show.

Yuno hovered above him, which just made it worse. He had explained to the demon that he was the backup hacker, there only if Lang failed. He wouldn’t fail, of course, so this was all for the show. He truly hadn’t tried the new system yet—but how hard could it be?

Shapes and colors and text came to life on the screen. He focused on each of them, doing his best to remember all of it, but soon, he realized that it was a lot quicker than before. He was so close to finishing but it shut him out before he could.

He cursed violently, and Yuno blinked.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

Lang ignored him, and tried again.

He would get it this time, surely, it would be fine—

Failure.

Lang had failed. He was a motherfucking demon prince and he had failed.

Something dark and angry ate at the edges of his consciousness. This was unacceptable. He only had one more attempt, and that was it.

A shadow loomed over him.

Lang reached for his knife—before he realized who it was.

“Is it my turn now?” Yuno asked.

He seemed anxious, his confidence faltering, but still eager as ever.

Lang’s hand fell from his knife. “I don’t know, how are you feeling?”

“You’re asking about my feelings?” Yuno’s voice was bewildered. It was like he couldn’t believe that Lang fucking Buddha was actually asking about his feelings.

“Feelings about the hack, motherfucker.”

“Oh, right, well, I guess the only way to know is to try, right?”

There was no reason to let Yuno try. Lang knew that he could get it—he just needed to calm down.

Somehow, he still found himself handing the laptop over. He didn’t even know how it had happened, only that one moment he was holding the laptop, the next, Yuno was crouched in place, his helmet reflecting the screen back at him.

Lang watched the shapes and colors flash by. It seemed impossibly fast.

This was a stupid idea. There was no way that Yuno could do it—

A second later, and his helmet went dark.

Lang held his breath. He didn’t know why. He wasn’t expecting anything.

“Mr. Lang, it's gone. The laptop’s gone.”

His heart leapt into his throat. “You did it then? You actually did it?”

There was no hiding his incredulousness. He hadn’t expected Yuno to succeed. He’d assumed that Yuno’s one-shot hack had been a fluke, a mistake, maybe even luck. He had never, in a million years, expected Yuno to actually be some cracked out legendary hacker.

This changed everything.

If all the new systems were as hard as this one, Lang couldn’t hack anymore. He needed someone else to do it for him, someone who wouldn’t be scared off by the stress and the pressure. Maybe, just maybe, Yuno could be that person.

And if that was the case, his plan couldn’t happen.

“Hell yeah, habibi, I knew you could do it.” Ray wrapped Yuno into a tight hug, his smile wider than ever, and Lang knew that if he had gone through with his plan, he would’ve been making more than one enemy tonight. Tony was still eying him suspiciously.

He knew that Lang had something planned.

Now, however, it had all changed.

His little lesson would have to be saved for later. He couldn’t let his hacker go to prison.

As much as he hated it, he needed Yuno.

“Head to Chilliad,” he said, once in the car.

Tony drove without question. Police sirens rang loud and clear behind them. Lang kept a careful eye on Yuno the entire time, but the hacker seemed just happy to be along for the ride. He was completely oblivious to all the dark thoughts rushing through Lang’s head.

Yuno didn’t know that anything had changed.

He assumed that this would be it. One bank—then back to being threatened.

Only once they saw the bikes at the top of the mountain did Yuno seem to realize what they were doing. His fingers tightened ever so slightly on the seat, as if by holding on, he could delay the inevitable.

“Get to the bikes, quick,” Lang said.

No one argued. Not even Yuno.

They ran for the bikes and while running, Lang let himself shift.

His back rippled and midnight black wings burst through his shirt. They flapped once, then twice, getting a feel for the cold mountain air. Around him, the others did the same, unleashing their wings and hopping on the bikes.

Yuno was the only one who hadn’t yet.

“Is everything okay?” he shouted.

There was no response from Yuno, and Lang had no choice but to start up his bike. The police would be upon them in seconds. He had no time to waste, or to consider why Yuno hadn’t unfurled his wings yet. The snow was nearly blinding him, and after a moment he lost sight of the boys.

He could only hope that they made it to safety.

For now, he let his wings carry him home.

Chapter Text

This was a problem.

Yuno hadn’t realized that this was their escape plan. He would never have agreed to hack for them if he’d known that he would have to use his wings. He would’ve had half a mind to just launch himself off the mountain on his bike without them and hope to God that he survived.

He knew, however, that even an angel could be killed.

It would be stupid to risk his life like that.

Instead, he waited until the others were lost to the snow, until hopefully no one else could see him, before he let himself shift. There was something altogether bizarre about the white wings that sprouted from his back, his feathers nearly lost in the snowstorm.

It had been so long since he’d last shifted.

He had to say—he hadn’t missed it.

Although he would never admit it aloud, his wings had always felt off to him. A little too heavy, and much too bright. He preferred himself without them. They were a burden that he didn’t need.

That night, however, they saved his life.

At least they weren’t completely useless.

Yuno would take something—over nothing.

After the police sirens faded into the distance, Yuno rummaged for his phone. He clicked the call button and waited for Dundee to pick up.

The snow was still coming down heavily. It was almost impossible to see more than two feet in front of him and his poor fingers were starting to freeze. He worried that they would stop working altogether if he didn’t head back to the city soon.

The call shot to voicemail.

Yuno felt his heart sink.

He’d thought that Dundee would be over the whole Mel incident by now. It had been weeks.

Evidently, he was a fool for thinking that.

In Los Santos, there was no forgiving and forgetting.

***

“Hey, Yuno, can we meet up?”

So this was it.

Mr. Lang had held off for the job but now that it was over, he would take his revenge. He had promised that Yuno would be scared of him. He didn’t seem like one to break his promises.

Still, Yuno couldn’t help what slipped out next. “Sure, where should I meet you?”

Nowhere. That’s the correct answer.

“How about Rooster’s Rest? I know how much you love it there, after all, you always come back.”

“Oh–are you sure? The park is a lovely place this time of year–”

“To do what? Freeze my ass off in the cold?”

“Well, I mean, there’s some plants—”

“Some dead plants, you mean.”

Yuno laughed, but it was strained. “I suppose you’re right. I’ll see you at Rooster’s then.”

He hung up before Mr. Lang could say anything else.

His heart was racing much too fast. His palms were slick with sweat. It wasn’t fear causing all of these things, no, it wasn’t fear making him dizzy. It was a sick kind of exhilaration.

If Mr. Lang actually tried something—Yuno would welcome the excitement.

He was getting bored anyway.

***
The restaurant came into view far too quickly.

Yuno shuffled up to the door and in one grand motion, he threw it open.

Some customers shot him a dirty look, and Yuno couldn’t help his disappointment. Mr. Lang could always try to take Yuno out with other people here, but it was far more unlikely than if he’d closed the restaurant for this. It meant that this would probably be a lot more boring than Yuno had hoped.

At the far table, Yuno found Mr. Lang.

His dark hair was pushed back into a slick ponytail, and his golden eyes were sharper than steel. He tracked Yuno’s movements from the moment he entered, a fact that didn’t escape Yuno’s notice.

“Hey, Mr. Lang, how’s it going?”

Mr. Lang scowled. “You didn’t pick up.”

“Of course I did—I’m here, am I not?”

“After the chase, I mean. For all we knew, you’d gotten caught.”

Yuno must be imagining it. Lang Buddha could not have been worried about him. It didn’t make sense for him to be worried, not when he’d wanted Yuno gone a few days ago.

“I’m sorry,” Yuno said.

Mr. Lang scoffed. “You seem to apologize a lot.”

“That’s because I do a lot of stupid things, Mr. Lang.”

They both fell silent. Mr. Lang kept staring at him, as if trying to work out a particularly challenging puzzle piece. The hair on Yuno’s neck prickled under the weight of his gaze. Yuno wanted to squirm in place, to do something, anything, to get out of that piercing stare.

So he said, forcing himself not to fidget, “What did you call me for?”

Yuno tried to convince himself that his blood was pumping faster than normal because of the heightened sense of danger, and that it had nothing to do with how pretty Mr. Lang looked. He was like a fine marble statue, something that would stand tall in a garden.

Something that only became more beautiful with age.

A dark object was thrown in the air, and Yuno flinched instinctively.

His heart leapt into his throat and even when a harmless bag dropped into his outstretched hand, he still couldn’t quite convince his body that he was fine. That he was safe.

Yuno glanced questioningly at Mr. Lang. “What is this?”

“Your cut.”

Carefully, Yuno peered inside. Gold coins glinted back at him and Yuno couldn’t hide the surprise in his voice, the bewilderment. “Really? I’m getting paid?”

“Of course, why wouldn’t you be paid?”

Yuno had assumed that hacking for them was reward enough. He hadn’t expected to be treated like a full member of the job, especially since he’d cost Mr. Lang so much money already. It didn’t seem fair.

“It’s alright, Mr. Lang, I don’t need the money.” Yuno pressed the bag back into Mr. Lang’s hand. “You deserve it more than I do, anyway.”

Mr. Lang scowled and tried to give back the money. “I said it’s yours, Yuno.”

“And I said that I don’t want it.”

“You would refuse my gift?”

Something dangerous flickered in Mr. Lang’s eyes. It was never a smart idea to refuse a demon’s gift. It was the gravest of insults, although Yuno couldn’t help it. It felt wrong to take from Mr. Lang.

“Don’t think of it as refusal, think of it as paying you back.”

“Paying me back? What the fuck for—”

“For the burgers, Mr. Lang.”

Mr. Lang stared, dumbfounded. “You can’t be serious.”

Yuno was thankful that his helmet hid his smile. He didn’t want Mr. Lang to know how amusing he found this whole situation, although if Mr. Lang was in Yuno’s shoes, he would’ve had to admit that it was kinda funny, that look on his face. The great Lang Buddha, utterly speechless.

It would’ve made even the strangest creature laugh.

“So, are you going to kill me, or what?” Yuno asked.

Mr. Lang opened his mouth, then closed it.

After a few moments, he said, “Why would I kill you?”

“Well, you did say that if I ever returned–”

“I was joking.

Yuno laughed. “You have a funny sense of humor, Mr. Lang.”

A scoff followed that statement. “You’re the one who laughs at death.”

“Why fear something that I can’t control?”

“I don’t understand you, Yuno.”

“That’s okay, Mr. Lang, I’ve been told that I think differently than most.”

It was a recurring theme in his life. No one ever seemed to understand him, but that was okay. Yuno would understand for the both of them.

“But it’s not okay—”

“Lang! Yuno!” Raymond Romanov cut into their conversation. He marched over to the two demons and flashed Yuno a large grin. “Have you heard yet?”

“Heard what?” Lang snapped.

“About the angel–apparently, one was spotted at Chilliad.”

The entire world stopped. Yuno’s heart nearly exploded in his chest. Fear sprang to life within him, sharp and painful, despite his earlier words. He had to have misheard.

“An angel? Really?”

Ray nodded, completely missing the note of panic that had entered Yuno’s voice. “Yes! It’s all anyone can talk about. Apparently it was there that very same night that we were, it could’ve been a few feet away from us, and we never would’ve known! Could you imagine if we ran into it–?”

“I would’ve ripped it limb from limb if we had.” The words sent another jolt of fear through Yuno. He couldn’t help the panicked glance that he shot at Mr. Lang, and he realized that there was something very wrong with Mr. Lang.

His expression was dark, furious in a way that Yuno hadn’t realized a demon could be. It wasn’t the type of fury that burned the world to the ground, it was the type of fury that could survive decades, that could slowly freeze someone to death, if only given the chance.

It was a fury that burned cold.

Ray sombered instantly, and he backtracked. “Right, I–uh, I forgot that well, you know.”

“Forgot that my wife was fucking murdered? Thanks a lot, Ray,”

Ray looked away. “You have to admit, though, it’s pretty special—”

“The only thing special about an angel is how they bleed. If I ever fucking catch one, I’ll make their death slow and painful. I’ll rip out their pretty little feathers one by one, I’ll cherish every scream, and I’ll make them understand how truly evil a demon can be.”

A shudder swept through Yuno.

He couldn’t help it.

Yuno knew that demons hated angels, but Mr. Lang’s hatred was on another level. It was personal for him and Yuno could only guess at what had happened to his wife. He wouldn't be surprised if Mr. Lang blamed angels for her death—whether they were at fault or not.

Even worse, this rumor meant that someone had seen him.

They’d caught a glimpse of his wings and now, Yuno had bigger problems to worry about than Mr. Lang. He could only hope that the rumor wouldn’t spread and that if it did, it wouldn’t reach the Celestial City. He couldn’t afford to let his parents know where he was.

That would be a disaster.

“I–uh, oh, look at the time, I’m late,” Yuno said.

Mr. Lang snapped out of it. He turned toward Yuno, his brows wrinkled. “Late to what?”

“Well, you know, important things, really. I’ll see you later?”

Before Mr. Lang could confirm either way, Yuno was gone. He had to figure out who’d started this rumor and he had to make sure they hadn’t seen anything else.

He didn’t let himself think about what he would do if they had.

Chapter Text

“Uno, mate, good to see you!” A loud Australian voice broke his train of thought.

His heart lifted at the sound. “Dundee?”

The man in question stepped into view. His mouth formed a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “The one and only, how’s it going, Uno?”

“Good, I–I thought you didn’t want to see me?”

“Oh, I didn’t, but I realized that I can’t blame you. You were just being Uno, after all.”

Something like unease fluttered in Yuno’s stomach, but he was too happy to have his friend back to pay it any mind. He was probably just being paranoid. If Dundee was ready to move on, then Yuno would be ready too.

“Thanks, Dundee,” he said. “I’m glad you understand.”

There was a flicker of something in Dundee’s eyes, but it vanished before Yuno could focus on it.

“Of course, mate, that’s what friends are for!”

The smile on Dundee’s face never faltered. It stuck like honey, unable or unwilling to let go. Yuno didn’t know how to feel about any of this, and he tried to shove down his concern. It was better to not think too much about what Dundee did.

He was crazy—but the good kind.

“So, champion, what do you want to do? You up for some good ol’ house robberies?”

Yuno hadn’t robbed a house in ages. “Sure, I’d be down.”

He still remembered his first attempt, back when he’d first come to the city. He’d tried to steal a microwave and had frozen in place when the cops tried to arrest him. He liked to think that he’d changed since then, that this city had changed him, for the better, even.

The same person that he was back then wouldn’t have laughed in the face of death.

Yuno liked this version of himself better.

Someone who wasn’t afraid of a little danger.

Dundee offered him his hand, and Yuno took it. He tried to ignore the prickle on the back of his neck, the nasty feeling that someone was watching them. Yuno looked around more than once, but every time, he was convinced that he was imagining things.

Together, he and Dunee vanished into the city streets.

***

In the days that followed, the feeling of being watched only got worse.

Yuno tried to ignore it. He hoped that it would go away.

But it never did.

Eventually, Yuno had to admit that something was wrong. He’d tried finding the source of the rumor and couldn’t quite pinpoint who’d started it. It should’ve been easy, with how many connections he had, like following a spider back to its web, but no, the truth eluded him.

Much like his mysterious stalker.

A couple of times, Yuno had taken a few sharp turns and looked over his shoulder. Every time he expected to see a shadow, a flicker of movement, anything, really, and every time, there was nothing. He would’ve assumed that he was going crazy—had it not been so persistent.

This time, Yuno picked up the pace.

He quick walked for a few blocks before he broke into a run. The streets blurred together around him. Buildings and locals, the humans who inhabited the city, became one and the same. His heart thumped violently in his chest but Yuno didn’t stop.

He turned down a dark alleyway, and kept running.

Only after a few more wild turns did he dart up onto a nearby roof. He held his breath and waited, stilling his body and willing himself to disappear into the shadows. It had always worked so well back home, so why wouldn't it work here?

A lone figure crept into the alleyway.

Their midnight black hair shot down their back in long, tumbling waves. Their skin was paler than ice, their clothes a red so dark that it appeared black in the moonlight. All of that could’ve been dismissed as mere coincidences, but there was no mistaking their bright green eyes.

A shade that nearly matched his own.

“I know you’re there, Yuno,” the person said.

His heart skipped a beat.

“You can come out—I don’t bite.”

Slowly, as if approaching a wolf, Yuno lowered himself from the roof. He kept his gaze fixed on the figure in black and didn’t break eye-contact with her. Green clashed with green.

“How did you find me?” Yuno asked.

The figure scoffed. “You made it easy, with all those nasty rumors floating around.”

So the rumors had reached the Celestial City. Yuno shouldn’t be surprised.

“Ray Mond,” Yuno said. “Why are you here?”

Ray Mond gave him a curious look, but only shrugged. “What? I can’t visit my own brother?”

“You don’t honestly expect me to believe that’s why you’re here.”

“Yes, I suppose you were always too smart for that.“

A smile tugged at Yuno’s lips. “Flattery won’t help you, Ray.”

Ray returned the smile–but hers was all teeth. “We’ll see about that.”

She stepped closer to Yuno and Yuno had to stop himself from flinching. His body screamed at him to run as fast and as far as he could, but he wasn’t ready to give up yet. If there was even the chance that Yuno could salvage this, he had to try.

Perhaps Ray really meant what she’d said

“I missed you, you know,” she said.

Yuno’s smile turned bitter. “You have a funny way of showing it.”

“Oh, come on, stalking is the highest form of flattery, didn’t you know?”

“Ray, please–tell me why you’re here.”

There was a moment of silence in which Ray seemed to be calculating something. She eyed Yuno like he was a piece of prey that she needed to catch, a rabbit that she needed to ensnare.

“You left,” Ray said, and her voice broke. “You left without even a goodbye.”

Yuno sucked in a breath. “I didn’t—”

“Do you know how much that hurts? To just be abandoned like that?”

“I didn’t have a choice, Ray. You would’ve told Mom and Dad and they never would’ve let me leave. I would’ve been trapped in the Celestial City forever.”

“What’s so bad about that? You’d be home, with our family—”

“The Celestial City was never my home.”

“And our family? Did we really mean so little to you? Did I mean so little?”

Yuno swallowed hard. “It’s nothing personal, Ray.”

“That’s the problem–isn’t it? It’s never personal with you.”

This wasn’t what Yuno wanted. He had left without a word to avoid this. Fighting and arguing had never been his strong suit. He would rather just disappear, but Ray wouldn’t let him.

She was far too stubborn for her own good.

“I’m not coming back,” Yuno warned.

Ray’s smile grew fangs. “We’ll see about that.”

“I mean it—I’m not going back.”

“Goodbye, Yuno.”

Without another word, Ray vanished into the night. Yuno didn’t try to stop her. He could only hope that she would see reason and leave him be. It was unlikely that she would involve their parents yet –she would want to be the one to bring him home— so there was still hope.

Yuno didn’t have to panic.

At least not yet.

Chapter Text

Lang gave Yuno a call.

“Hey, Yuno, how do you feel about the vault?”

There was a beat of silence. “The vault? Like—hacking it?”

“Yeah, I figured you did so well with Paleto, why not try it?”

Lang tried not to let his desperation show. He needed Yuno to hack for him.

As long as Yuno kept succeeding, he would keep him around.

And, if a day ever came when Yuno stopped being useful, then Lang could always dispose of him.

“I’d be down to try,” Yuno said.

“Perfect, let’s start the set up in an hour, okay?”

“Okay, I’ll see you soon!”

The call ended and Lang tried to ignore the flutter of guilt in his stomach. He had no reason to feel guilty. This was what everyone in Los Santos did. It was Yuno’s fault for being so easy to use, not his.

Tony raised an eyebrow. “Did he say yes?”

“Of course he did, motherfucker, did you think he wouldn’t?”

“Well, I certainly wouldn’t blame if he didn’t.”

“You’re such a hater,” Lang said.

“It’s called being realistic.”

“It’s called being a stupid fucking idiot.”

“Hey, you don’t have to describe yourself like that—”

Lang rolled his eyes. “Come on, motherfucker, let’s get ready.”

“Fine, fine, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“You didn’t warn me about shit.”

“Then hear my warning now—there’s a reason Yuno keeps saying yes.”

“Maybe he just likes my company.”

It was Tony’s turn to roll his eyes. “Maybe so, but somehow, I bet there’s more to it.”

As much as Lang hated to admit it, Tony was probably right. It didn’t make sense for Yuno to keep saying yes, even if Lang gave him a cut of the job. With skills like that and connections like his, he could hack for anyone he wanted. He didn’t need to hack for someone who’d threatened to kill him.

So, why did he keep coming back?

It was a mystery that Lang intended to solve.

***
“This is such dogshit,” Tony snapped.

They’d been trying to set up for hours and it felt like everything that could go wrong, did. All their vehicles had vanished into thin air, all their lockpicks broke like they were made of paper, and the entire time, they’d been dodging the cops.

Everyone was beyond annoyed. Harsh words and complaints fell through the air like rain, each one another droplet in a never-ending storm. Tony and Ray were really starting to piss him off.

No one, however, was more annoying than Yuno himself.

Even when literally everything went wrong, when there was not a single thing to be happy about, Yuno always found a reason to laugh. His laughter was a constant companion of theirs, throughout all the scuffed disappearances and faulty equipment. The others shouts and curses seemed to slide right off him, everything that happened doing nothing to phase his happy exterior.

It didn’t make sense—how could someone be so unbothered?

“Does any of this fucking matter to you?” Lang asked after the fifth car scuffed out, and all Yuno did in response was laugh. It was really starting to fuck with him.

Yuno fell silent, and for the first time since they started the setup, he seemed to have sombered. Bewilderment tilted his words. “Of course it matters to me.”

“You have a really funny way of showing it.”

Yuno shrugged. “Why get upset at things that I can’t control?”

It was the same sentiment that he’d echoed earlier, and Lang understood what he was going for. Why worry about things that you can’t change? Why fear things that will always be there? Why get upset about things that will happen either way?

Still, that didn’t make it any less infuriating.

“I swear to the devil,” Lang said. “If a single other thing goes wrong, I’m going to lose my shit—”

“Hands up, or I’ll shoot.”

The voice boomed through the narrow alleyway. It shattered all of Lang’s thoughts and he whipped his head around to find a lone cop. Her dark hair was pulled up, her uniform pristine, and there was an ugly sneer on her face.

A gun was trained at Lang’s head.

The sight made his blood boil. Lang felt his shadows stir and he did nothing to stop them from seeping to the surface, did nothing to stop the raging inferno building up inside of him. He couldn’t fucking deal with this shit. This cop had been chasing them all day.

It was time that Lang taught her a lesson, demon to demon.

“Sir, control yourself, or I will shoot.” The cop cocked her gun, her finger hovering on the trigger. Lang had no doubt that she really would shoot him if he didn’t do something.

Behind him, Tony and Ray hesitated. Both of their fingers itched and Lang knew how badly they wanted to pull a gun of their own. He also knew that if either of them tried it, the cop would kill them all before they could lift a finger to defend themselves.

Lang reached for his shadows.

He let them flood over him, let their power surge through his veins. He readied himself for an attack, let it build beneath his skin, and then, finally, when it was ready, he fixed his gaze on the cop. He would show her what it meant to be feared. He would kill her where she stood, he would watch her blood soak the earth and for the first time today, he would laugh—

“Wait, ma’am, this is all a big misunderstanding.” The voice was soft and unassuming. Lang did a double take at the figure now standing in front of him. He couldn’t even see the cop around the person’s helmet, and Lang needed to know what the fuck Yuno was doing.

“Yuno,” he snarled. “Get out of the way.”

Yuno only shifted more in front of the cop. Lang’s shadows rioted beneath his skin, begging to be unleashed, and it took all of Lang’s self-control to bite them back, to temper his fury. “Come on, why don’t we talk about this?” Yuno said. “This isn’t what it looks like, I swear–”

“Really? You four weren’t about to steal this car?”

Yuno laughed, like that was the funniest suggestion ever, and not exactly what they were doing. It was such a light, sweet sound that Lang almost wanted to believe him. A sound like that couldn't possibly come from a criminal, it wouldn’t make sense.

None of this made sense.

“Of course not, ma’am! I just really wanted to see a Sultan up close, and my buddies here, they were nice enough to offer to take my picture! How kind is that? You know, it’s been my dream car since I first moved to this city, I can’t believe I found one–”

“You can’t honestly expect me to believe that.”

Yuno stopped, and goddamn, his next words sounded so confused, so hurt. “But it’s the truth? I love Sultans and I really do want a picture with one. I’m sorry for causing trouble, officer.”

The cop frowned. “Look, I need to search you—”

“Oh, of course, feel free! Would you like a sandwich? I have extras.”

Lang watched, open-mouthed, as the cop hesitated. She seemed to be debating something in her mind. Like she was truly wondering if she’d been mistaken, and if they really were humble car enthusiasts. Lang didn’t even blame her.

Yuno was fucking convincing.

He seemed so innocent, so nice. He still held out a sandwich to the officer, one that was undoubtedly from Rooster’s Rest, and there was such an unassuming quality to his body language. Lang could almost imagine the warm smile that must’ve been waiting just beneath his helmet.

“I, uh, I guess I am pretty hungry,” the cop admitted.

“Perfect! Here you go, officer! Thanks for working so hard, I know it must be really tough keeping all those criminals in line. Tell you what, if I hear anything suspicious, you’ll be the first to know! I’m Yuno, by the way, what’s your name?”

“Claire. My name is Claire.”

“It’s been a pleasure, Claire! Do you still need to search me or—”

“No, no, it’s fine.” Claire shook her head, as if clearing her thoughts. “I must’ve seen wrong. Do make sure to take that photo quick, though, alright? It wouldn’t do well to hang around here.”

“Oh, of course! Thank you so much!”

The cop muttered something under her breath, but Lang didn’t catch what she said. Yuno stayed right where he was, not moving a muscle until Claire’s car was entirely out of sight. He turned toward Lang, and there was something sheepish about him now.

“Sorry, Mr. Lang, I didn’t mean to interfere—”

“Are you kidding?” Tony said. “That was fucking awesome.”

Yuno fidgeted. “I, well, it was nothing really.”

Ray shook his head. “Damn, Yuno, you’re smooth.”

There must’ve been something wrong, for Lang could’ve sworn that Yuno was flustered. “I, uh, whatever you say, Ray. We really should get back to setting up, though—”

“Can’t, unfortunately.”

Lang snapped out of it at that. He shot Tony a murderous look. “Why the fuck not?”

“I told you that I had to leave at 4—”

“This is more important than whatever meaningless shit you have going on—”

“Sorry, Lang, but I can’t skip it. Besides, Ray also has to leave, right?”

Ray nodded. “Yeah, sorry, we can finish this tomorrow?” he suggested, trailing off at the look on Lang’s face.

This was unbelievable.

These motherfuckers were really ditching him.

“Fine, do your useless shit.” Lang turned his scathing gaze on Yuno. “I suppose you also have to leave as well, heh? You got a girl waiting for you at home?”

Yuno laughed. It seemed to be all he was capable of.

“Girls aren’t into me, Mr. Lang. But I do have somewhere to be, would you like to come too?”

The offer surprised him. Lang hadn’t expected to be invited to whatever Yuno was doing. Normally Lang was the one sending out the invitations. He actually had things of his own that he needed to get done —he was a busy man after all– but for some reason, he didn’t say no.

“I have nothing better to do,” he said. “Where we going?”

Tony and Ray were already disappearing into their own cars, and Yuno grabbed his hand. Lang blinked in surprise but didn’t protest as the other demon led him toward the Sultan. His hand was pleasantly warm, and so very soft.

“It’ll be a surprise, Mr. Lang!f”

Lang hated surprises.

But maybe this one would be different.

***

The entire ride to wherever they were going, Yuno kept up a pleasant chatter. He didn’t seem to be in that much of a hurry and Lang wondered how the fuck he’d gotten his liscense, as they seemed to crash every ten seconds. Yuno never stopped talking though, even when they nearly exploded.

It was almost unnerving how calm he was in the face of utter destruction.

“We’re almost there!” he said.

Lang scowled. “You ever gonna tell me where we’re going?”

“Nope! What would be the fun in that?”

Maybe Yuno was going to murder him. He seemed to be taking them somewhere remote, somewhere with no prying ears, where Lang’s screams couldn’t be heard. If it was anyone else, Lang would’ve left a long time ago, in fact, he wouldn’t have even said yes.

This entire thing was so suspicious.

Something, however, kept him from running.

He wanted to know more about Yuno. He couldn’t pass up this opportunity. He needed to understand Yuno if he was going to convince Yuno to stay. Lang hated to admit it, but he needed Yuno. He had to find some way to even the playing field, something that would give him the upper hand.

Something to make sure Yuno would never leave him.

“We’re here!” Yuno said, and Lang peered out the window at the large, white building before them. It had a dome shaped roof and was covered in glass, from head to toe. You could see into the inside at the large telescope that was pointed at the stars, and the flickering lanterns lining the halls.

“You brought me to a fucking observatory?”

Yuno laughed. “I did say it was a surprise, didn’t I?”

This was indeed a shock. Out of all the places in Los Santos, this was nowhere near what he was expecting when Yuno said it would be a surprise. He imagined some dangerous place, with lots of illegal gambling and maybe some pretty people to look at.

This place was downright abandoned. The paint was cracked, the plants overgrown, and it looked like no one had been here in centuries. Lang had no idea why they were here.

“Come on,” Yuno said. “I want to show you something.”

Lang had no choice but to follow Yuno. He had no idea where they were going and he hesitated when Yuno gracefully leapt onto the roof, and offered him a hand up. “You coming?” he asked.

This was the moment of truth.

This was the moment that Lang decided if he truly wanted to do this, if he was crazy enough to follow Yuno onto a random roof, if he was crazy enough to trust a person that he’d only just begun to know.

Turns out, Lang had always been a little crazy.

He accepted Yuno’s hand and together, they made their way toward the center of the roof. Yuno didn’t seem the least bit phased at the drop below them, and how it steadily increased the higher up they went. He didn’t seem concerned about anything, really.

The wind whipped against Lang’s face and his heart sped up against his will. He knew, logically, that he had nothing to fear. He had wings, for hell’s sake, but it didn’t stop the fear. It raced in his heart, kept his feet shaky and his mind scrambling.

He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment.

“Mr. Lang? Is everything alright?”

Lang forced his eyes open and was a little surprised to find Yuno so close. He was inches from Lang’s face and there was something like concern in his voice. Lang tried to see behind the visor, to see the eyes beneath, but it was pointless. Yuno remained as unreachable as ever.

“I’m–I’m alright.” The words sounded weak and breathy and Lang hated it. He wasn’t scared. There was no fucking logical reason to be scared. He was a motherfucking demon prince, for Hell’s sake.

A hand fluttered to his own. It clutched him loosely, carefully, as if he would break at the slightest touch. Lang couldn’t help his sharp intake of breath, and suddenly, the world faded away.

All he could see was Yuno, and their hands, intertwined.

“What are you doing?” he snapped.

Yuno squeezed his hand. “Helping.”

This was ridiculous. Lang wasn’t a child that needed coddling. He was fine on his own, he didn’t need this, he didn’t need Yuno— “I’m not scared,” he said.

“Of course not, but if you were, I wouldn’t think any less of you.”

The words settled in Lang’s heart. He knew it was foolish. He didn’t even care what Yuno thought of him beyond ensuring that he kept hacking for him, but it sent a warm fluttering through his body.

He didn’t let go of Yuno’s hand.

And although he hated to admit it, the contact kept him grounded. It prevented him from thinking about the fall below them, about how his body would look splattered across the ground, his blood and guts mingling to form a messy collage of gore.

Above them, the stars were coming out.

Yuno led him to the very center of the roof, where it dipped to form a shallow nest of sorts. There was no hesitation on Yuno’s part. He settled right in and dragged Lang after him, forcing them both to stare up into the heavens.

Lang normally hated the silence. It made him think about things he’d rather forget, things that made his anger only burn brighter. His wife used to force him to be quiet. She’d insist that they sit and watch the beautiful world that they lived in. He used to scoff, but reluctantly, did as he was told.

Now, he would give anything to have her beside him.

It had been a long time since she’d died and maybe Lang was a fool for holding on so tightly, for refusing to let her go, even when it would’ve been better for everyone, but he’d always been stubborn. He couldn’t give up on her, even if she was dead.

Even if she was never coming back.

“This is my favorite view in the city,” Yuno admitted.

Lang cast a glance his way. It was rare that he’d be given a moment to purely admire the demon before him, to marvel at all his mysteries and curiosities. Yuno might seem air-headed and oblivious, but there was more beneath the surface. The way he’d dealt with that cop, it was like nothing Lang had ever seen. He’d never known someone who could, or who cared enough, to talk like that.

To risk his own life for a stranger.

Yuno was either crazy, or incredibly stupid. Maybe a little of both.

“You’re looking at me weirdly,” Yuno said.

Lang blinked, snapping out of it. “I am not.”

“Sure, whatever you say, Mr. Lang.”

There was a moment of silence, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. Lang realized that this might be his chance. He could finally ask Yuno all the questions, burning a hole into his brain. He could finally get answers, could finally understand this curious oddity before him.

“You know, you never said what kind of a demon you are.”

Yuno shifted, the movement almost indetectable. “You never did either,” he pointed out.

“Well, it hardly takes a genius to know what I am.”

“Guess then, what kind of demon am I?”

The way Yuno was looking at him, it seemed like he was genuinely curious what Lang would guess. A dozen different options popped into Lang’s head. He’d initially thought incubus, but after spending time with Yuno, he knew that was wrong.

Some part of him wanted to guess maniae. There was something crazy about Yuno, a wildness that went undetected for the most part. He was like Jean Paul in that way, both feeding off the thrill. Everything Yuno did, he seemed to think of it as fun.

That was some psycho level shit.

Still, it didn’t quite fit.

“You are like no demon I’ve ever meant,” he said, after a moment.

Yuno winced. “I’ve been told that before, yes.”

“You’re far too kind, and far too trusting.”

“Not sure how that’s relevant, but yes, I’ve been told that as well.”

Yuno returned to looking up at the stars. Lang desperately wanted to see his face, to know if his words were actually affecting Yuno, or if he was only imagining the difference.

“You’re a familiar, aren’t you?” Lang said, some part of him having known it since the beginning. It made sense, in a weird way. Yuno was always seeking to please, always willing to say yes, to help anyone and everyone who asked for it, even those who didn’t deserve it.

A little hum escaped Yuno. Lang took it as confirmation.

“Who are you bonded to?” Lang asked. He knew little about familiars, but he knew that they were a type of demon that often served as companions or guardians. Once they bonded with someone, they were deeply loyal to that person, and would even die for them.

If Yuno was bonded to someone, that would complicate matters.

“I’m not bonded to anyone,” Yuno said.

It was surprising, if nothing else. Yuno knew so many people, had befriended nearly the entire city. Lang was certain that if Yuno asked, most of them would say yes to the bond. It meant that Yuno himself was what was preventing him from bonding with anyone.

An evil thought occurred to Lang. If he could somehow convince Yuno to bond with him, it could solve all his problems. Yuno would be forced to stay by his side. He wouldn’t be able to leave. Lang would never have to worry about having a hacker again.

“Look, that’s my favorite constellation.”

Yuno pointed toward the sky, at ten stars which formed a bird of sorts. Lang wasn’t one for looking at constellations but he could see why Yuno liked that one. It seemed to be in mid-flight, as if it would fly away at any second. It was beautiful.

Just like the demon before him.

The thought slipped past and Lang instantly shoved it away. He was being ridiculous. He couldn’t think such things about someone he had barely even met, someone who he didn’t even know what they looked like, underneath that helmet.

Yuno could be deadass ugly, for all Lang knew.

Somehow, though, he doubted it.

“Do you come here often?” he asked.

Yuno tore his gaze from the stars. “Sometimes,” he admitted. “I used to stargaze a lot as a kid. It was a way of distracting myself from whatever horror story was unfolding in real life.”

Lang could understand that. He used his work in a similar manner, letting himself disappear into it whenever life came back with a vengeance. It didn’t work that well, though, his problems never ones to be ignored for long. They always re-presented themselves, in one way or another.

“Did you bring me here to distract me?” Lang asked.

Yuno laughed. “In my defense, you seemed stressed. I thought it would help.”

Lang would never admit it, but it was helping. The day’s struggles and events seemed so far away up here on the roof, with all the skies and the heavens opened up before them. It was calming, even if Lang hated everything the heavens stood for.

“Thank you,” he said, swallowing hard.

“Of course, it was my pleasure.”

A scowl crossed Lang’s features. “How can you be like that?”

“Like what?”

“How can you be so nice? Isn’t it exhausting?”

“No, not really, I promised myself a long time ago that I wouldn’t be like my parents.”

“Ah,” Lang said. “They weren’t nice, I take it?”

“You could say that,” Yuno said, his voice trailing off. He seemed to be lost in thought and Lang let him think for a moment or two. He could understand having bad parents. His own were barely around.

He’d turned out fine, though, so it was all good.

“It’s fine, though, that was a long time ago.” Yuno’s thoughts were eerily similar to his own. It made Lang wonder what else they had in common. It made him want to know everything about Yuno, from his childhood to his present. All the little things that Yuno kept close to his chest, that he didn’t share with anyone, not even his hundreds of other friends.

Lang couldn’t help it when he asked, “Why did you come to Los Santos?”

“Well, we’re all running from something, aren’t we?”

“That’s not an answer.”

“Well, what about you? Why did you come to Los Santos?”

Yuno had a point there. Lang’s answer would be similar, if not the same. No one came to Los Santos because it was their first choice. Nearly everyone was running from something.

The question was, what—or who—was Yuno running from?

“That’s not important,” Lang said, a little too quickly.

“I disagree, you’re very important, Mr. Lang.”

Lang scoffed. “Your flattery is appreciated, but unnecessary.”

“But I mean it—you’re one of the most interesting people I’ve ever met.”

For some reason, those words sent his butterflies scrambling. “I could say the same about you,” he said, trying not to let it show how much those words affected him.

He could’ve sworn Yuno was smiling beneath his helmet. “Thanks, Mr. Lang. That means a lot.”

“I never said it was a compliment.”

“Neither did I.”

Lang couldn’t help the laugh that tore from his lips. It was sharp, and a little too loud, but it was real and genuine, a fact which surprised him more than anything else. It had been so long since he’d laughed like that, probably not since his wife died.

The thought sobered him.

“You know, that silver-tongue of yours might come in handy,” he said.

Yuno cocked his head. “How so?”

“Well, Rooster’s Rest is always looking for more hires.”

“Really?” Yuno asked, surprise peeking through. “I thought you’d kill me if I ever went back.”

“You already broke that rule, Mr. I’m Going to Give A Cop A Sandwich.”

Yuno chuckled. “So you caught onto that one, huh?”

“It was kinda hard to miss, you did it right in front of me.”

“Fair, fair, I’ll have to be more careful next time.”

“Or, you know, you could just buy the food yourself.”

“What’s the fun in that?” Yuno asked, and Lang was finding that he was getting used to Yuno’s laugh. He didn’t know what about it was so mesmerizing, but he couldn’t look away from it, from him.

“So you don’t want a job at Rooster’s Rest?”

“I appreciate the offer, Mr. Lang, but I’m not one for a regular job.”

Lang frowned. “Why not?”

Yuno waved his hand, and said, “Oh, you know, too boring.”

That couldn’t be the only reason, but Lang didn’t push. He would respect Yuno’s wishes. He didn’t want to risk driving Yuno away by insisting that he work at Rooster’s Rest.

Still, it was rather odd.

“So you’re fine working there for nothing, but the second I offer to pay you—that’s it?”

“Exactly! I’m glad you understand me so well, Mr. Lang.”

Lang scoffed, but found that a smile was tugging at his lips. He didn’t know why, or where it had come from, but now that it was there, he couldn’t get rid of it.

There was something different about Yuno.

He made Lang want to laugh and smile, even when there was no reason to do either of those things.

“You’re something special, you know that?” Lang asked.

Yuno looked back at the stars and for a few long moments, Lang thought he wouldn’t respond. The silence came back and it wasn’t uncomfortable. It was nice, just sitting like that, staring at the stars.

“Sometimes,” Yuno said, in a voice so soft that Lang could’ve been imagining it. “I wish I wasn’t so special. Sometimes, I wonder what it would be like to be normal.”

I wonder what it would be like to be normal.

That was a thought that Lang himself had had on multiple occasions. As a demon prince, he never got to experience what life was like for those of a lower station, for your average everyday demon. He’d wondered sometimes, how different he’d be if he was born normal.

Would he still be the same cruel-hearted demon? Or would he be kinder in some ways, a nicer, less vicious version of himself? Did he even want that?

Lang didn’t know.

He just didn’t know.

***
Later that night, Lang returned home.

His head was still full of Yuno. His voice, his laugh, his words. They were everywhere, taking over every corner of his mind, making it hard for Lang to think about anything else. He didn’t know what was wrong with him, but he couldn’t forget the feel of Yuno’s hand in his.

How right it had felt. How good it felt to be with someone who cared.

Most didn’t, and Lang respected them for it.

However, some part of him respected Yuno more.

It took a special kind of courage, a unique type of bravery, to keep caring, to keep wearing your heart on your sleeve, even when it would’ve been so much easier to lock it deep inside, to keep your feelings under lock and key, where no one could ever reach them.

The devil knew that’s what Lang did.

It worked for him, too, or at least—it had.

Lang cracked the door open to the house. It squeaked in protest and Lang winced. He really didn’t want to wake anyone who happened to be sleeping here for the night. The clock said that it was well past 2 am and Lang would never live it down if someone caught him now.

They would only assume the worst, especially since he’d last been seen with Yuno.

“Lang, my man, just the person I was looking for!”

A violent curse fell from Lang’s lips and he turned to Tony. “It’s—uh, did I wake you?”

There was something funny about how Tony was looking at him. A peculiar glint in his eyes as he examined everything about Lang, from his wind-swept, tousled hair to his rumpled clothes. Dread built in Lang’s heart and he already knew what conclusion was forming in Tony’s head.

A sly smile crept onto Tony’s face. “So—you did it with Yuno, did you?”

“No, of course not,” Lang snapped. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Oh come on, I know how much you’re obsessed with him. Tell me, is he as handsome as he sounds?”

“That’s–that’s not any of your business.” Lang cleared his throat. “Besides, we’re not—it’s not like that. I barely even know Yuno.”

“Says the one who spent the night with him.”

Lang nearly choked at that. There was a steady blush searing his cheeks and no matter what Lang did, it only seemed to get worse. He could feel it creeping down his neck, the heat slowly spreading, and fucking hell, Tony missed nothing.

“Aw, Lang, it’s okay, we all have our crushes—”

“I don’t have a crush, motherfucker—”

“Denial doesn’t look good on you—”

“Shut the fuck up, Tony.”

Tony’s only response was a long, winding laugh. He seemed to find far too much humor at the idea that Lang had a crush —which wasn’t even true. It was perfectly normal to be thinking this much about holding hands with someone, and how nice it had felt.

Yes, that was perfectly platonic.

And if Lang did feel a little flutter in his chest whenever he saw Yuno, well, that was purely a coincidence. It was just being at the wrong place, at the wrong time. Nothing to do with Yuno himself.

Lang was a motherfucking demon prince.

He didn’t get crushes—he was the one doing the crushing.

Chapter Text

Someone was trying to kill him.

That’s the first thing Yuno learned when he talked to Claire. He’d kept in contact with her ever since running into her randomly with Mr. Lang. They’d grown into quite good friends in a short amount of time. Yuno chalked it up to his open personality, and Claire’s desire to talk to someone.

“Yuno, I hate to break it to you, but this could be serious.”

Yuno tried to laugh it off. “Oh, I’m sure it’s fine—”

“I don’t think so, I’ve heard rumors.”

Yuno had also heard rumors. He’d known that someone was trying to kill him for a few days now, but he’d thought it was a baseless rumor. The fact that Clare had also heard it, well, that meant it was more serious than he’d originally thought.

Maybe he’d been a fool to dismiss it so easily.

He cast an uneasy glance around the cafe. It seemed relatively safe, but then again, you never knew for sure. A potential killer could be lurking just around the corner, and he’d never know. That’s what made life so exciting, and Yuno didn’t fear that reality, but it did make his heart beat faster.

“They say that someone is trying to kill you, that it’s personal, or at least, that’s the word on the street. My underground contacts all reported something along that line. I don't want you to get hurt, Yuno.”

“I’ll be fine,” Yuno promised.

“You don’t know that. It was nice talking to you—I don’t want to lose that.”

“You won’t, I’ll be fine, Claire, truly.”

Clarie seemed like she wanted to say more, but Yuno’s phone rang. He gave her an apologetic look, one that she couldn’t see beneath his helmet, and picked it up. He didn’t feel the least bit guilty when he left shortly after, muttering something about an emergency, when it was nothing really.

Just someone asking him for a favor.

He was used to things like that. People calling him out of the blue, friends or acquaintances or people that had just heard his name. Yuno always did his best to help them, no matter who they were. He didn’t collect payment, at least not in the traditional sense.

Yuno collected secrets.

It was better that way, gave him an advantage. He would never use any of the secrets that he collected to hurt or harm anyone, but it helped him understand the demons of Los Santos. It helped him understand what it meant to be normal.

To have normal secrets, that you could trade away for a small favor.

Yuno would’ve loved to be that unremarkable.

As it was, he knew that he had a problem. He could dismiss the threats to Claire all he wanted, he could deny that they were dangerous, could convince himself that he was fine, but he would only be lying to himself. He needed to be more careful than that.

His sister knew where he was.

God knew what she would do with that information.

It was better to be safe than to be sorry.

Once again, it was time for Yuno to disappear.

Chapter Text

Lang tried calling.

He’d called nearly a dozen times.

Each time, Yuno hadn’t picked up. The call had gone straight to voicemail and Lang was left wondering if Yuno was purposely ignoring him, or if something worse had happened. He hadn’t seen or heard from Yuno in a week, not since that night at the observatory.

Yuno had been fine when he’d left.

Could something have happened to him? Had he not made it home?

“Hey, Leyla,” he said.

Leyla glanced up from the counter. “You need something?” she asked.

“Yeah, well, I was just wondering—have you seen Yuno?”

Leyla frowned. “No, I figured that he finally took your warning to heart, and stayed away. It’s almost a shame, really, I miss his laugh. He definitely livened up the place.”

A pang of loss shot through Lang. This was ridiculous.

Yuno was fine. He was surely fine, right?

“Thanks, anyway,” he said.

Leyla only nodded and went back to work. She didn’t comment on how his face fell, or how heavy his heart felt. He tried calling one more time, and maybe he really was insane, because just like all the times before, his heart lifted for just a moment, convinced that Yuno would pick up, but he never did.

Yuno never picked up.

It was like he’d vanished from the face of the earth. All his friends, every single person Lang could tie him to, hadn’t seen him. Not since a few days after that night in the observatory.

The last person to see him, ironically, was the cop that Lang nearly killed.

“Hello, excuse me,” Lang said.

The cop startled, and glanced up from her desk. “Can I help you?”

“Yeah, I’m looking for Yuno.”

Her face dropped into a scowl, and recognition shone in her eyes. “You’re that buddy of his from the Sultan incident, the one with the stupid face and the ugly voice.”

“I think you’ve confused me with Tony.”

“No, no, it was definitely you, now, the question is—why is Lang Buddha looking for someone like Yuno?”

“What do you mean?” Lang said.

“Yuno’s a good kid, he deserves better.”

“Excuse me?”

“He deserves better. Better than you—someone who only seeks to use him.”

“I don’t—I’m not–” Lang fell silent. He probably should’ve lied, should’ve insisted that he wasn’t here because he needed Yuno, that he cared about Yuno, but he found that he couldn’t. The words got stuck in his throat and no matter what he did, he couldn’t force them out.

“It’s pathetic, really. I’m onto you, Lang Buddha. If you hurt a hair on Yuno’s head, if I ever learn that you hurt him, either in this life or the next, I will destroy you. I don’t care if you’re a demon prince. Believe me when I say that, for Yuno, I would kill you without a second thought.”

There was something about Yuno that inspired this kind of undying loyalty. This cop had known him for less than a week and she was already willing to wage war for him. Yuno didn't know the effect that he had on people, how easy he was to care for.

How easy he was to love.

Anger unfurled in Lang’s heart. Yuno couldn't have just left. He wouldn’t do that to them. He wouldn't do that to his friends, he wouldn’t do that to Lang, would he? He cared more than that, right?

Then again, for someone who wore his heart on his sleeve, who laughed at everything, who became friends with everyone, he was insanely difficult to read. Lang couldn’t tell how much, if any, of his words had been real. Yuno could’ve been lying to him from the very start.

He’d convinced Lang to care, and then, like a sick joke, he’d vanished into thin air.

Was he laughing somewhere, all by himself? Did he find Lang’s pain funny?

It wouldn’t surprise Lang in the least. Everything seemed to be a joke to Yuno. Nothing seemed to infiltrate that thick helmet of his. He seemed to merely be moving through life, making friends at every step of the way, but never quite letting them affect him as much as he did them.

Lang left the police station feeling more lost than ever.

He shouldn’t care this much. He shouldn’t care if Yuno never came back.

He was a motherfucking demon prince, for Hell’s sake—

“Excuse me, are you Lang Buddha?” A voice echoed behind him. It held a level of familiarity, something in its cadence that was vaguely reminiscent of someone he knew. He couldn’t quite place who, even when he whirled to face the stranger.

She had long dark hair, with brilliant green eyes. There was something almost ethereal about her, something in the way that she moved, barely touching the ground, as if she was floating above it all.

“What’s it to you?” he snapped.

The woman smiled, baring her teeth. “I’m Ray Mond—Yuno’s sister.”

All the air fled his lungs. Lang could do nothing but stare.

No wonder this woman seemed familiar. She spoke exactly like Yuno did. He wondered if Yuno shared her dark, raven hair, or her fearsome emerald eyes. It hurt that he might never know, either way.

“I heard you know my brother?” she said, raising her eyebrows.

Lang forced himself to nod. “Yeah, I—I know him.”

“Good, then, perhaps you can tell me—where did my mischievous brother run off to?”

So she didn’t know. Just like him, she didn’t know where Yuno had gone.

His heart fell, and he tried not to let it show. “Your guess is as good as mine.”

“You must have some idea.”

“Wouldn’t you know better? You’re his sister, after all—”

“Please,” Ray said, and fuck, she sounded so lost, so desperate. “I need to know where he is. I need to know–” her voice broke— “I need to know if he’s okay.”

Even if Lang wanted to help, he didn’t have an answer for her. He’d exhausted all his contacts, had looked everywhere for Yuno, even going as far as stealing the key for his apartment and looking for clues there, but there had been nothing.

No hints, no notes, nothing to explain where he could’ve gone.

It was like he’d never existed at all.

Like he was a figment of Lang’s imagination.

“I’m sorry,” Lang said, and he recoiled. He hadn’t meant to apologize. This wasn’t any of his business. All he cared about was getting his hacker back, that was it. This emotional bullshit was just that–bullshit. He didn’t have time for this shit.

He had a vault to hack.

***
Turns out, Lang was fucking washed.

It had been a few weeks and for some reason, he was worse than he was back then. He tried all the hacks, got it all set up, but then, once he was actually at the vault, he fucked it all up.

Maybe it was the stress, the pressure—or maybe he was just bad.

“Lang, lock in! You can do this!” Tony was so insistent, so passionate. Lang wanted to scream and shout that no, he couldn’t do this. He wasn’t Yuno. He wasn’t special.

He was just Lang fucking Buddha.

Someone who despite all his power, despite his title, seemed to be destined for one thing, and one thing only: to be abandoned. The only thing he was good at was being left behind.

It was time Lang accepted the truth.

Yuno was never coming back.

He was gone, and with him, any chance Lang had at success.

Chapter Text

Yuno was never good at waiting.

It made him nervous, anxious.

He knew, logically, that this was for the best. He’d vanished so thoroughly from the face of the earth, had burrowed so deep into the city, that it would be near impossible for anyone to find him. They would be stumbling blindly through the dark, hoping to catch a glimpse of his light.

They could have an eternity to try to find him—and they never would.

If Yuno was good at anything, it was being invisible.

The problem was that being invisible, well, it was boring. He couldn't do anything that he normally did for fun. Racing, stealing, confusing locals, it was all off-limits. Not to mention he itched to hack something. He wanted so badly to know if Mr. Lang had attempted the vault without him. He wanted to know what they’d gotten, if anything. He wanted to know if Mr. Lang was missing him.

That last one was a foolish thought, yet, a constant one. He found that his thoughts often returned to Mr. Lang, even when it made no sense for them to do so. He couldn’t get the demon out of his head and he blamed it on the fact that Lang made things interesting.

It was never boring with him around.

Yuno longed to return to that.

Surely, after a week, his would-be killer had moved on. Things were forgotten so easily in this city. Someone could hate someone one day and be best friends with them the next. Yuno reasoned that even if it was somehow personal, they must’ve given up by now.

A week could feel like forever in Los Santos.

Because of that, Yuno didn’t worry too much when he went back to his apartment. He was certain that the danger had passed and now, he could finally return to his normal activities. He was looking forward to robbing something, maybe a house or a car. Anything to blow off steam.

The first thing he did once in his apartment was check his phone.

He hadn’t touched it in a week, and there was little flutter in his stomach at the dozens of missed calls. It seemed like people had missed him after all. There were some from Leyla, one from Claire, a few from an unknown number, and dozens from Dundee, Ray, and Mr. Lang.

What the hell had happened while he was gone?

Yuno called Dundee first.

It rang once, twice— “Uno, mate, where the fuck have you been?”

“Hey, Dundee, how’s it going?”

“Answer the question, Uno.”

“Oh, you know how it is, I just got busy, that’s all.”

“For a week?”

“Really busy. Sorry for worrying you, is everything alright?”

“It’s more than alright, now that you’re back. I’ve been needing to talk to you for forever. Why don’t we meet tonight at the abandoned mineshaft?”

Yuno frowned. “Why don’t we meet at the park—?”

“Where’s the fun in that?”

Dundee had a point. Yuno had never been to the mineshaft before. It would be an interesting adventure, one Yuno would be all too happy to partake in. He needed some excitement, anyway. A chance to blow off some steam after his week break.

“I’ll see you there,” Yuno said.

“Perfect, see you soon!”

The call ended and a flicker of unease swept through him. He shook it off immediately, and chalked it up to him being out of it from the week away. He still had one more thing he needed to do before he met up with Dundee.

Chapter Text

Lang must’ve been hallucinating.

His heart leapt into his throat and he scrambled to pick up the phone. He pressed it to his ear and waited, with bated breath. The entire world faded away when he heard that voice.

Soft and smooth as honey, it made him second guess everything.

“Hey, Mr. Lang, what’s up?”

“You fucking asshole,” he spat.

“I—uh, it’s good to talk to you, too.”

“What the fuck happened?”

Lang couldn’t hide his fury. Yuno had ditched him, had left without a word, and now he was back, without a hint of an explanation. He better have a fucking good reason for disappearing like that.

“Don’t worry about it, it’s nothing—”

“Yuno,” he said. “Cut the bullshit.”

“But it truly is nothing—”

“Then why the fuck did you disappear for a week? You didn’t think to call, or even send a text that you would be gone for a while? Do you know how fucking worried I was—” Lang broke off, shutting his mouth. He hadn’t meant to sound so upset. He hadn’t meant to let Yuno know how much he cared.

“I’m sorry,” Yuno said.

“Then tell me the truth.”

“Fine, there was—a threat.”

“A threat?” Lang raised an eyebrow. “What kind of threat?”

Lang imagined that Yuno waved a hand. “Oh, you know, the usual.”

“It’s not because of me, is it?”

Yuno stopped, his bewilderment clear. “What? Because of you?”

“Yeah, I just—I thought you were avoiding me.”

“Why would I do that? We have a vault to break into, after all.”

Hope fluttered in Lang’s chest. “So you’re still down to hack?”

“Of course, I would love nothing more.”

Thank the fucking devil. Lang didn’t know what he would do if he got Yuno back, only to lose him again. “Perfect,” he said. “We can be ready in an hour—”

“Actually, I, uh, I have a previous engagement.”

Lang scowled. “An engagement that’s more important than the vault?”

“Unfortunately, yes, I’ll be ready tomorrow, though.”

What the fuck could be that important? Lang knew it was none of his business, but his curiosity urged him to ask more questions, to figure out exactly why Yuno had left. He still hadn’t gotten a straight answer out of him. A threat was about as vague as it could get.

For all Lang knew, the threat was just an excuse.

There could’ve been any number of real reasons why Yuno vanished, and the worst part was, Lang didn’t think that Yuno would ever tell him. The only way for Lang to know would be to get the information himself. Perhaps, if Lang followed Yuno tonight, it would give him some clue as to where Yuno had gone, and why.

Normally, Lang would be against such underhanded tactics.

But in all honesty, he was running out of options.

He couldn’t let Yuno disappear again.

If this was what it took to prevent that, then so be it.

***

Yuno was full of surprises.

Once again, out of all the places in Los Santos, the abandoned mineshaft was the last place he expected Yuno to take him. He had no fucking clue why they were here.

Rain pounded down from above, drenching him to the bone, and despite how fucking cold it was, Lang was thankful for it all the same. It would disguise his footsteps and hopefully, prevent him from being seen. He didn’t know what Yuno would do if he caught Lang following him.

Lang certainly didn’t want to find out.

Halfway into the mineshaft, Lang started to get nervous. The darkness was all-consuming. He could no longer see the light from outside and a part of him wondered if Yuno knew that he was following him, and if Yuno had led him to this mineshaft to kill him.

It would’ve been the perfect place for a murder.

No one would ever find the body.

“Hello, friend.” From the darkness, someone lit a match. It illuminated the tunnel just enough so that Lang could see the lone figure standing between him and Yuno. There was something threatening about how the figure was standing, and fuck, was that a gun in their hand?

“Hey Dundee, how’s it going?” Yuno asked, completely oblivious to the danger that he was in. Lang didn’t know if he was delusional, or if he was just blind to the tension that seemed to only grow heavier by the second.

Dundee took a step forward. “It’s going just fucking fantastic, isn’t it?”

“I’m glad to hear it—is there a reason why we’re here?”

Lang watched Yuno look around the tunnel, noting how his gaze shifted right past the gun in Dundee’s hand, and Lang couldn’t imagine the look on Dundee’s face. He wondered if it would be blood-thirsty, if it would be as cold and cruel as Dundee’s voice.

“I’ve got a bone to pick with you, Yuno.”

Yuno hesitated. “What do you mean?”

“I thought I could forgive you, but I can’t. Mel grabbed someone who he thought was me, and you did nothing as he burned that person alive. What if that had been me? You even tried to help Mel afterward.You tried to save him, to take him to the hospital.”

“Well, I mean, we don’t want him to die.”

“You had no problem watching me die.”

There was a silence that fell. Maybe Yuno was finally starting to realize the danger he was in. Lang wanted to believe that this was just another argument between friends, that it would all be okay, but he didn’t like how Dundee took another step forward.

He was far too close to Yuno already.

“You see, the problem that I have with you, Yuno, is that I have the bad fucking feeling that you’re going to cause me a problem.”

“I wouldn’t—”

“You already have. You have a heart of gold, that’s something that I always admired about you, but you’re going to have to learn how to break people’s hearts. You’re going to have to learn how to be a bit of an asshole, Yuno, do you know why?”

Lang wanted to stop this.

He didn’t know what this was but he knew that these words were hurting Yuno. They were slowly stripping him of everything that made him who he was. They were killing him, one sentence at a time.

“Do you know what happens to people like you, Yuno?”

“They make a lot of friends and live happily ever after?”

The laugh that followed was harsh, and cruel. “We live in a city of demons. Do you know what happens when someone realizes that you’re a pushover? They control you. They use you. They manipulate you. They lie to you. Do you want that, Yuno? Do you want to be used?”

“I, well, if it makes them happy—”

“Do I look fucking happy to you?”

Lang knew the answer already.

No, just like him, Dundee wasn’t happy with just using Yuno. He wanted more, more than anything Yuno could ever offer him. Because for Yuno, friends came easily.

Why cherish something that was replaceable?

“You haven’t realized yet, have you?” The words settled in the air, the weight of them making it hard for Lang to breathe. He couldn't imagine what Yuno was thinking, what was going on beneath that helmet of his. Yuno didn’t move a muscle. He was immovable, untouchable, a statue in the midst of a storm, and he didn’t so much as flinch when Dundee said, “I’m not here to have a conversation.”

Dundee brought the gun to Yuno’s head.

Yuno seemed to stare straight into the barrel. There wasn’t a flicker of emotion beneath his helmet, at least not a visible one. “You see, I’ve finally figured out what your problem is, Yuno.”

“Really?” Yuno sounded distant, like he was somewhere far, far away.

“Yeah, really, the reason you’re like this, it’s because your heart hasn’t been broken yet. That’s why you haven’t changed, Yuno, has anyone ever broken your heart?”

For the first time, Yuno faltered. “Dundee—”

“Yuno, have you ever been betrayed by a friend you trusted before?”

There was something wrong here.

Something terribly wrong. Lang felt compelled to stop it, to do something, anything, but his feet wouldn’t move. His body refused to work. He could do nothing but watch as Yuno laughed, a soft and broken sound that pierced Lang’s heart. “It's not friends that I’m worried about—I was never worried about them.”

Dundee hesitated. “What are you talking about?”

“Family, Dundee, that’s who always betrays you.”

“Your family—did they break your heart?”

”They made it so I didn’t have a heart to break.”

“You want to test that theory?”

Before Lang could even scream, a gunshot split the world in two.

It exploded into existence and there was nothing Lang could do to stop it. Yuno just stood there for a few long moments, staring down at the gaping hole in his stomach. Blood pooled at his mouth, the candlelight making it appear almost golden. Then, Yuno was falling.

He hit the ground with a heavy thud.

“I’m still your friend, Yuno, but you have to understand that you can’t make everyone happy. I hope you fucking survive this, alright? You have to break some hearts to make some friends, Yuno Sykk. Consider this your one freebie. Next time, it won’t just be your heart that I break. You have a lovely sister, did I ever mention that? It would be a shame if something happened to her.”

Those words settled in Lang’s heart. His fury and his anger rippled to life and he wanted nothing more than to rip Dundee to shreds, to make sure he felt twice as much pain as Yuno was feeling. He deserved a thousand deaths, each more gruesome than the last.

“Goodbye, Yuno.”

Without another word, Dundee vanished into the tunnel. He took the last remaining light with him, leaving Lang and Yuno in complete and utter darkness. The only sounds were Yuno’s labored breaths. Lang scrambled forward, instantly on the floor beside Yuno.

His hands fluttered to the bullet wound, and he tried desperately to stop the bleeding. He couldn't see what he was doing, couldn’t even see the black puddle forming all around Yuno’s body. It took a lot to kill a demon, he knew that, but he couldn’t help the panic that had taken over.

Words fell from his lips—each one more frantic than the last.

“Yuno, baby, please, stay with me. It’ll be alright. Everything will be fine.” Lang hardly recognized his own voice. He’d never heard himself speak so softly, had never seen this side of himself before. The last time he’d talked like this, it was to his wife.

Moments before she died.

The memory hit him in full force, and Lang struggled to keep focused. He tried to bite it down, the metallic scent of blood, the way it had stained his hands, how fury had burned bright within him, how his shadows had swarmed the scene, devouring anything and everything in sight.

He had no idea if they were doing the same thing now.

Lang had no control of himself. He was lost to the memories, to the fear that threatened to drown him in a sea of endless pleas. He couldn’t lose someone else. He couldn’t lose Yuno.

He needed him.

“Hold on, I’ll fix this,” he said. “Let me call 911, they’ll help you—”

A hand stilled his own. It squeezed weakly. “Mr. Lang,” –Yuno wheezed, and fuck, he sounded so weak, so brittle. Like the tiniest wind would break him. “I’m fine, truly, it's just a little scratch.”

“You were fucking shot.”

Yuno tried to laugh, but it devolved into long, hacking coughs. “I’ve survived worse,” he muttered.

“Somehow, I find that hard to believe.”

“I—just no hospital, okay?”

“Yuno, I can’t—I can’t fix this on my own.”

“Okay,” –Yuno let his hand drop. “I’ll do it.”

Shock coursed through him. “You’ll what?”

“Do you have a needle and thread?”

“Do I look like a fucking seamstress to you?”

“Alright, that’s okay, what about a dagger?”

“This is absolutely crazy—”

“Do you have a dagger?” Yuno repeated, stronger this time.

Lang scowled. “What? You want to stab me too?”

When Yuno didn’t respond, Lang panicked. He didn’t know what the fuck was happening but he also knew that they didn’t have time to waste. Yuno was losing blood, and fast.

Carefully, as if cradling a newborn, Lang pressed his dagger into Yuno’s hand.

“Now what?” he asked.

Yuno grimaced. “I need light.”

Lang was a demon who dealt in darkness. Light wasn’t his strong suit, but maybe, just maybe, his nasty smoking habit would finally come in handy.

He fumbled around for a moment, before he pulled out a lighter. Its flame was weak and fragile, the mere impression of light more than anything actually helpful.

“Thanks,” Yuno said.

Even while dying, he still found a way to be polite.

“What can I do?” Lang asked.

Yuno hesitated, then seemed to resign himself. “Take off my helmet.”

The request made Lang startle. He thought he’d misheard, but no, Yuno was staring at him expectantly. He supposed that the helmet must make it darker than it already was. He reached for it and tried not to show how his heart flipped when he caught his first glimpse of Yuno’s face.

Instantly, Lang knew that he was right.

Yuno really was beautiful.

Dark wild hair, soft full lips, and eyes that were the exact color of holly leaves. A green so vibrant that it was blinding. Lang wanted to stare at those eyes forever, to get lost in their depths.

He knew, however, that they were running out of time.

He tore his gaze away, and was a little surprised to realize that Yuno was cutting away his own shirt. He sliced through the fabric easily, as if bleeding out in a dark tunnel was a normal occurrence for him. Which, maybe it was. Lang was starting to realize how very little he knew about Yuno.

Once the fabric was clear, Yuno directed him to bring the lighter closer to the wound. Thankfully, it looked like the bullet had gone straight through. Lang didn't know if he could handle fishing it out. Already he was starting to feel nauseous. He hated how squeamish he was, but he couldn’t help it.

Normally it was fine—normally he never stuck around to see the aftermath.

Even while bleeding out, Yuno was scarily calm. His breaths were shallow, his skin unearthly pale, but his fingers were steady as he pressed the dagger against the lighter, and waited. Lang frowned, wondering what the hell Yuno was doing, when suddenly, Yuno ripped the dagger away and a moment later, a scream tore itself from Yuno’s throat.

The smell of burning flesh filled the air.

Too late, Lang realized what Yuno was doing.

He didn’t know how the fuck the dagger had gotten that hot, not from his tiny little flame and not so quickly, but he was too distracted with Yuno to care. The other demon’s skin was plastered with sweat and despite the pain glazing his eyes, despite the whimper that escaped his lips, he didn’t stop.

He didn’t stop until the wound was nothing but an angry red line.

The mark would definitely scar—Lang had no doubt about it.

After he finished, Yuno let the dagger clatter to the ground. He slumped back into Lang, his breaths labored and strained. He seemed so small, so helpless, curled into him like that. Lang lifted a hand to his face, and brushed back a strand of midnight black hair.

Yuno’s eyes fluttered open. Lang froze, caught mid-act.

Thankfully, Yuno wasn’t looking at him. He seemed to be staring into the darkness, his eyes not quite focusing on anything in the tunnel. Lang wondered what he was thinking. He wanted to know how someone so unassuming could be so strong.

To still be conscious after all that, after being shot and betrayed, after burning his own wound closed, that was a special kind of crazy. A kind that Lang would love to know how to become.

“Yuno?” he said softly.

Yuno turned his brilliant gaze on Lang, and his heart skipped a beat. “Mr. Lang.”

It was all Yuno could seem to manage. He drifted further into Lang’s arms, his eyes shuttering closed. Lang didn’t mind. He liked the idea that Yuno trusted him enough to stay, even after a betrayal like that one, although, in all honesty, he was probably just too tired to leave.

Lang rose to his feet, Yuno in his arms.

He could do this one thing for a beautiful boy, and after that, it would all return to normal.

They could go back to being hacker and heist leader, like none of this ever happened.

For some reason, that thought brought with it a wave of loss. Lang blamed it on the shock. He had seen a lot tonight and although he didn’t have it nearly as bad as Yuno, his brain was still reeling.

It was all he could do to drive them back to the house.

He figured that it was safer there than anywhere else. Dundee might decide to finish the job and if he did, Yuno couldn’t be anywhere that he’d expect. Besides, at the house, Lang could keep an eye on him. He still needed to find a way to convince Yuno to bond with him.

Perhaps this was his chance.

The door creaked open, loud as ever, and Yuno stirred in his arms. Lang made a shushing noise in the back of his throat and Yuno stilled as if the noise calmed him. Lang set him down carefully on the couch, and pressed a hand to his forehead.

He was burning hot. Likely had a fever, despite how both of them were soaked to the bone. The rain had been relentless, washing away all their blood and sins. Not that Yuno had any of the latter.

It was almost annoying how perfect he was.

“What the fuck is happening here?” Tony’s voice was sharp and ever so loud.

“Shut the fuck up,” Lang hissed, whirling on his friend.

The other demon’s gaze darted between Lang, and then back to Yuno. His mouth curved into another one of his damn smiles and Lang could only imagine what they looked like. His clothes were probably sticking to him in all the wrong places, as Yuno’s certainly were, not to mention that Yuno was still shirtless, his bare chest slicked with sweat and rain.

“Lang,” Tony said. “This is a new fucking low for you.”

Lang shook his head. “It’s not what it looks like—”

“It looks like you dragged Yuno back to our house to do fuck knows what—”

“He’s injured, Tony.”

That made Tony shut up. He scanned Yuno one more time, his gaze settling on the still fiery red burn snaking across Yuno’s stomach. “Oh,” he said. “Fucking hells, what happened?”

Tony stepped forward, as if to get a closer look, but Lang blocked him. He didn’t know why he was feeling so protective, but he didn’t want Tony anywhere near Yuno. Especially not when Yuno couldn't defend himself. Tony was his friend, but he was still a demon.

It was in their nature to prey on the weak.

Tony shot him an offended look. “I’m not going to hurt Yuno.”

“You’re right—because I won’t let you.”

“Lang, you’re being ridiculous.”

“I’m not taking any chances.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “Fine, whatever, do take him upstairs, though, in case any of the others show up.”

Lang knew that Tony had a point, and he hated it. He always hated when Tony was right. Thankfully, it was a rare occasion that Lang didn’t have to deal with often.

Before Tony could say anything else infuriating, Lang lifted Yuno into the air. He shoved past Tony and made his way upstairs, taking Yuno to his room. He could keep a better eye on him there. He would make sure that Yuno’s trust in him wasn’t misplaced.

It was the least he could do for Yuno.

Guilt and regret threatened to drag Lang back to hell. He should’ve done something, should’ve intervened the second he realized that Dundee had a gun. It was his fault that Yuno was like this, that he’d been shot, and he hadn’t even had the courage to help him afterward.

Lang was a coward.

Yuno murmured something in his sleep and fuck, he looked so helpless. He was laid out on Lang’s bed, his dark hair plastered and sweaty, his chest bared to the world, his face almost peaceful. It took all of Lang’s self-control to keep a respectable distance between them. He wanted to see what someone so perfect, someone so special, tasted like. He wanted to press his lips against Yuno’s to see if it would wake him up, like some motherfucking fairy tale.

What the hell was wrong with him?

Yuno made him crazy–whether that was a good or a bad thing, well, that Lang didn’t know.

Chapter Text

Yuno woke up to a splitting pain.

He wasn’t surprised, really. It wasn’t every day that you got shot, nor was it every day that you cauterized the wound yourself. His entire body ached and when he tried to sit up, the pain was so terrible, so all-consuming, that for a moment, the world went white.

After a few long moments, he blinked enough to clear his vision.

The first thing he noticed was that he didn’t know where he was. He didn’t recognize this room, and his eyes traced the unfamiliar furniture and the picture frames decorating the nightstand. There were a few of Tony and Lang, but front in center, there was a woman.

She had the lightest blonde hair he’d ever seen, with long, thick curls. Her face was dipped into a smile and she looked so happy and alive in that picture, Yuno didn’t know what to think. He had no idea who she was, or what kind of demon she would be.

In fact, she didn’t look like a demon at all; she seemed painfully, heartbreakingly human.

“You’re awake,” someone said.

Yuno glanced up, and winced at the sudden movement. The throbbing in his head increased.

“Mr. Lang?” he said. “Where am I?”

Mr. Lang ducked into the room and offered him a glass of water. Yuno took it gratefully and he realized, as Lang sat on the bed beside him, that this must be Lang’s room. He’d mentioned that he had a wife, at one point. That woman must be her.

“Yuno,” Lang said, and God, he was being so delicate. As if Yuno would shatter at the slightest touch. He supposed that he might do just that, if he wasn’t shattered already.

One could only break so many times before you became immune.

Yuno had thought that he’d reached that limit years ago, but for some reason, this betrayal hurt worse than anything he’d ever imagined. It was a constant bitter taste in his mouth, his grief and guilt forming a hurricane of emotions within him.

In all honesty, Yuno blamed himself.

If he had only been better, if he’d only tried harder, none of this would’ve happened. Dundee wouldn’t have felt so betrayed by him helping Mel, and he never would’ve shot Yuno down in those tunnels.

Already, Yuno could recall that moment perfectly.

The booming gunshot, followed by a pain that threatened to destroy him completely. He wasn’t lying when he’d said that he’d survived worse, so it wasn’t the bullet wound itself that had hurt so badly, although it had hurt like death; it was the heartbreak of it all.

The knowledge that once again, Yuno had trusted the wrong person.

Once again, he’d been betrayed.

It seemed to be a common occurrence with him.

“Yuno, are you still with me?”

Yuno nodded, although he felt like he was underwater, like he wasn’t really here, in Mr. Lang’s room, like he was somewhere so far away, a tiny little planet that saw the world through a glass window. A broken window, at that. “I’m fine,” he said, after a moment.

Mr. Lang raised an eyebrow. “You don’t look fine.”

Yuno shifted on the bed, and his cheeks flushed as he realized that someone had changed him into dry clothes. He was wearing a shirt a couple sizes too big for him, and his pants were also new. He knew that it was stupid to be worrying about modesty right now, but he wondered if Mr. Lang had been the one to change him. Nothing had happened, he was sure, but still.

It wasn’t what he’d expected.

Another slight problem, Yuno didn’t have his helmet. Mr. Lang could see every one of his thoughts and Yuno had no clue how to hide them. He was so used to having his face hidden already; he didn’t know how to keep his emotions hidden as well.

“We’re at the house, I promise that you’re safe here—do you remember what happened?”

A frown tugged at Yuno’s lips. “Something like that isn’t easy to forget.”

“Yeah, I’m so sorry, I should’ve done something sooner. I didn’t realize that he was serious about shooting you, I figured it was just a typical friend argument.”

Yuno didn’t mind that so much. There was a much bigger question he had to ask.

“Why were you there at all?” he asked. “Not to make it sound like I’m not grateful, because I am, but it’s not everyday that you casually go into an abandoned mineshaft.”

Mr. Lang looked away. “I, well, I’m not proud of it—but I followed you.”

“Oh.” For some reason, instead of making Yuno mad, that realization sent a flutter through his heart.

“I know it was a shitty thing to do, but I was worried. You disappeared for a whole week and then the second you came back, you started acting suspicious. I wanted to know what was wrong.”

The fact that Mr. Lang cared enough to follow him into a dark mineshaft spoke volumes. Yuno couldn't be upset that Lang had followed him, not when it had saved his life. He would be lying dead on the dirty, blood-soaked floor if it wasn’t for Mr. Lang.

A jolt went through Yuno. His blood.

Christ, Yuno was an idiot.

He glanced at Mr. Lang, but there was nothing about him that said that Lang knew the truth. He wasn’t looking at Yuno like he was his worst enemy, in fact, he was looking at him so softly, it made Yuno wonder what had changed between them.

What had changed when Lang had found him bleeding and dying on the floor?

Yuno thanked God that the tunnels had been so dark. It had likely saved his life, that, and the pouring rain. His golden blood must’ve been washed away before Mr. Lang could see it, letting him keep the illusion that Yuno was indeed a demon.

A weird demon, but a demon nonetheless.

If Mr. Lang had learned the truth, he would’ve killed Yuno instead of saving him.

“Say something, Yuno. If you hate me, I understand—”

“I don’t hate you, Mr. Lang.”

“Then why the silence?”

Yuno shrugged. “I guess I just have a lot to think about.”

It was the truth. There were so many thoughts rushing through Yuno’s head; it was hard to distinguish one from the other. They were a cacophony of voices, each one pulling his broken heart into a million different directions. He wanted to be pissed at Dundee.

He wanted to hate him.

But he couldn’t.

It wasn’t in his nature to hate.

“Do you want me to take care of Dundee?” Lang asked.

The question caught Yuno by surprise. “Take care of him? Like—kill him?”

“Yeah, he hurt you, and in extension, he hurt me. I can’t let that slide.”

That logic was fundamentally flawed, unless, of course, Mr. Lang considered him one of the crew. An official member of the Cleanbois. Something warm sprang to life in Yuno’s heart, mending a few of his broken, jagged pieces. It made him feel a little more whole than he had felt moments before.

“No, I don’t want that,” he said.

“You sure? I could make him disappear–”

“I appreciate it, but that won’t be necessary.”

Mr. Lang frowned. “How can you not want revenge?”

“The best revenge is to move on. Dundee wanted to teach me a lesson. He wanted me to know that I can’t be friends with everyone, so, it’s time I took his advice, isn’t it? Why should I be friends with someone who hurt me? Why should I care about someone who clearly doesn’t care about me?”

“Exactly, don’t be friends with him, hurt him instead.”

“I don’t want to be like him, Mr. Lang. I don’t want to hurt people.”

“Even those who deserve it?”

Yuno nodded. “Even those who deserve it.”

It was the philosophy that he lived by. He wouldn't let other people’s actions change his way of life. No matter what Dundee said, he would keep being himself. He had fought too hard to become what he was; he wouldn’t throw all that away over one hurtful interaction.

Yuno would learn from it, sure, but he wouldn’t let it change him.

“I will never understand you,” Mr. Lang said.

“There’s not much to understand—I’m a simple person, once you get to know me.”

Mr. Lang scoffed. “Somehow, I doubt that very much.”

“I guess you’ll just have to see for yourself, then.”

There was a glimmer in Mr. Lang’s eyes. “I guess I will.”

***
Yuno hated being a burden.

“Are you sure that I shouldn’t leave?” he asked, for the hundredth time.

Mr. Lang shook his head. “It’s safest for you here.”

“Dundee wasn’t trying to kill me.”

“He’s unpredictable, and I won’t take any chances.”

It was touching how much Mr. Lang cared. Yuno would’ve ditched days ago if Mr. Lang hadn’t been so insistent that he stuck around. He was treating Yuno like a lost puppy, like he’d vanish if he was ever let out of Lang’s sight.

The attention was stifling.

Yuno was fine, truly.

His wound barely even hurt anymore.

“Fine,” Yuno said. “Then at least let me help—”

“It's too much of a risk, we’ll be alright, Yuno.” Mr. Lang flashed him a reassuring smile and before Yuno could protest again, Lang was already out the door, intent to catch up on all the business he’d missed in the last couple days. Yuno could only imagine how much had piled up.

He wanted to be useful—it was the least he could do.

Unfortunately, no one would let him help. He wondered if Mr. Lang would ever trust him with anything again, or if he would spend the rest of his life in this coddled existence, never getting hurt, but also never living either. The boredom was killing him.

A few moments outside wouldn’t hurt.

He slipped out of the house and into the city.

Noises and colors assaulted him. It was a familiar chaos, and Yuno disappeared into it. He walked the streets of Los Santos, with no clear destination in mind, and when he finally looked around, Yuno realized where he’d returned to: the observatory.

Yuno still remembered that night, so long ago, when he’d sat up on the roof with Mr. Lang. They had been close to strangers, back then. They’d come so far and yet Yuno knew that if the truth ever came out, it would all vanish in a heartbeat.

He would lose Mr. Lang for good.

“Yuno?” a voice cut through his thoughts. It was light, and smooth. A near perfect replica of his own, someone who shared his cadence, his silver-tongued words. He had nearly forgotten that she knew where he was; it had been so long since he’d last talked to her.

Yuno turned to face her. “Ray, what happened? Is everything alright?”

“I should be the one asking you that.”

“What do you mean?” The hair on the back of his neck prickled. He tried his best to ignore it, to focus on the woman before him. “I’m completely fine.”

Ray cast him a pitying look. “Yuno, I know you well enough to know when you’re lying. It’s unnecessary, of course, I couldn’t imagine living with what happened.”

Yuno frowned. He hadn’t told anyone about what happened with Dundee, so unless Mr. Lang had blabbed, or someone in the house had somehow put it together, no one else should’ve known.

Dundee’s words came back to him.

You have a lovely sister, did I ever mention that?

There was a sinking feeling in his stomach and some inner part of himself knew that something wasn’t quite right. Dundee had spoken as if he knew Ray, but that was impossible, right?

He remembered what Ray had said, after he’d said that he wasn’t coming back.

We’ll see about that.

Could she have—could she have done something?

“The good news is that now, you can come home.”

Yuno blinked. “What?”

“Well, I mean, this whole Dundee thing, it only goes to show how untrustworthy demons are. Your first friend in this city betrayed you. He left you to die, doesn’t that make you furious? If I were you, I’d want to burn him and this entire city to the ground.”

“Then it’s a good thing you’re not me.”

“Oh, come on, Yuno, it’s time to come home. You have nothing left.”

There was no other explanation. Ray knew too much, and she seemed far too pleased that Dundee had betrayed him. Yuno knew that his sister could be wild, that she could do dangerous, stupid things that hurt those around her, but this, he had never expected this.

“You told him to do it—didn’t you?”

Ray flinched, and it was all the confirmation Yuno needed.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said.

But it was too late. Yuno knew the truth.

“You convinced him somehow, planted this idea into his head, told him that the only way for me to learn would be if he shot me in the dark and left me to die.” Pain built in his chest and the world swum around him. He supposed that this proved him right.

It was always family that betrayed you.

“It was for your own good,” Ray said. “I knew that you wouldn’t leave if I didn’t do something drastic. I thought that if I made your life so miserable, if I took away everything that made it worth living, then you’d leave this horrible city. I only wanted my brother back, Yuno, please, come home.”

Maybe Yuno should’ve hated her. She had convinced his oldest friend to turn against him, had done it all knowing that it would hurt him, wanting it to break his heart. It would’ve made perfect sense if he hated her for it, if he couldn’t look her in the eyes ever again.

Instead, Yuno just felt sad.

By trying so hard to keep him, Ray had only chased him away.

“I don’t have a home,” he said. “I haven't had one in a long time.”

“Don’t say that, I’m your home, I’m your sister—”

“You’re no sister of mine.”

The words settled on the air, and Yuno saw them hit Ray, each one like a bullet to the brain, or a sharp piece of glass that only wedged deeper and deeper under her skin the longer it sat, unmoving and unrelenting, because it was the truth.

“Goodbye, Ray.”

Without another word, Yuno left. He left as Dundee had in the mines. He left knowing that this would come back to haunt him, but also knowing that he didn’t have a choice. He couldn’t pretend that he still saw Ray as his sister, not after what she’d done.

Family may be the worst traitors, but that didn’t mean he had to keep them around so that they could betray him again and again. Keeping Ray in his life would only result in more heartbreak. He’d known Ray since he was born. She’d been the only friendly face in the entire Celestial City.

His true first friend.

There was a loud ringing noise, and Yuno slowed down to reach for his phone. “Hello?” he said.

“Yuno, baby, thank the devil.”

“Is everything alright, Mr. Lang?”

“You can’t just leave like that, I had a fucking heart attack. Where are you right now?”

Yuno looked around, realizing that he’d long since left the observatory behind. He had fled from Ray without a destination in mind, only needing to get away from her. “I’m at the park.”

“Okay, we’ll be there in five minutes.”

“I’m fine, though, truly—”

“We’re doing the vault.”

Surprise prickled at Yuno’s skin. “Really? The vault?”

“Yep, assuming you’re well enough to do it—”

“Of course, I’ll be fine.”

Yuno tried not to worry about how his hands were shaking, ever so slightly. He was their hacker, it was his job to hack and he wouldn’t let them down. Nerves and excitement made his stomach flip.

“Great,” Mr. Lang said. “See you soon.”

See you soon.

That’s the exact same thing that Dundee said to him before the mines.

A shudder swept through him, and he tried to shove it down. Mr. Lang wasn’t like that. He wouldn’t do that to Yuno, wouldn't hurt him like that. Then again, that’s what Yuno had thought about Dundee, too. There was no telling what anyone would do once his sister got to them.

She may pretend to be an angel—but she was the shiftiest devil of them all.

Chapter Text

Lang needed this to be perfect.

There had been too many failed attempts, too many times that he returned to the house empty-handed. This time would be different. It had to be.

“Alright, the getaway’s all set up,” Tony said, his voice crinkled from the radio.

“Good, find a hostage, and we’ll meet at the vault.”

Lang glanced toward the back of the car. Yuno was still typing away at the practice laptop, the bright light reflected on his helmet. He was lost in concentration, and Lang hoped that he was well enough to do the hack. He still seemed a little off, although Lang couldn’t blame him.

It wasn’t everyday that you were betrayed by someone you trusted.

“Damn it,” Yuno muttered, almost too quiet for Lang to hear.

His heart sank. If Yuno was already having trouble, how the hell would they hack the vault?

***
Turns out, Lang was right to be worried.

Yuno was crouched over the laptop, the numbers flashing across the screen. He was trying so damn hard but everytime, right when he was about to get it, the screen would blink red, telling him that he’d been too slow. That he’d failed.

It was so unlike Yuno to fail at anything.

“Yuno,” Lang said softly.

Red consumed the screen yet again, and Yuno looked up, his fingers stalling. “I’m going to get it,” he said, sounding more desperate than Lang had ever heard him. It made Lang’s heart ache, made his entire body weary and heavy. He still had faith in Yuno.

He knew that this wasn’t usual behavior.

However much Yuno insisted that he was fine, he obviously wasn’t.

“You lied to me,” Lang said.

Yuno inhaled sharply.”I–what?”

“You told me that you’re fine, but you’re not.”

“But I am fine—”

Lang gave him his most disbelieving look. “You aren’t focusing. It’s like your mind is elsewhere, like it’s still stuck back in those mines, in that all-consuming darkness.”

Yuno looked away. “That’s wrong. You’re wrong.”

No, he wasn’t. Lang knew that he was speaking the truth. It was his fault for thinking that Yuno was truly as unaffected as he pretended, that he wasn’t still hurting inside. It had only been a few days since the incident; no one would be alright after what had happened.

He’d been trying so hard to give Yuno everything that he needed to recover, time, space, etc, but in doing so, he’d been ignoring the problem. Yuno would never heal if he didn’t talk about it.

As long as Yuno was still plagued by what happened, he wouldn’t be able to hack.

“Yuno, it’s okay to not be okay,” he said.

There was no response.

“You don’t have to be perfect, or to be fine immediately. If you want to talk about what happened, I’m here for you. You’re special to me, Yuno, I don’t want to see you hurting.”

The words were surprisingly easy to say. Each one was a calculated ploy to get Yuno to trust him, to convince him to care about Lang enough to never leave him, but beneath it all, Lang wondered if there might’ve been a glimmer of truth to what he said.

“Thanks, Mr. Lang, I–I can do this.”

Lang frowned. “Are you sure? It’s okay–”

“No, no, I need to do this.”

Lang fell silent. He wouldn’t argue with Yuno. He needed this heist to succeed probably more than Yuno would ever know. He didn’t need the money, but if he failed one more job, it would cause people to start questioning whether Lang was really as fearsome as people claimed.

He was Lang fucking Buddha.

He didn’t fail.

It was out of the question.

“Lang, we’re out of time, we need to leave.” Tony’s voice came loud and clear over the radio and Yuno startled. His fingers slipped mid-hack and fuck, Lang was really starting to hate the color red. It was so obnoxiously bright and Yuno was still staring at the computer, no doubt struggling to comprehend what had just happened.

“It’s alright–” he reached out a hand to comfort Yuno, but realized, a second later, that Yuno was shaking. His entire body was trembling and something wet was sliding down his neck, little droplets that pierced Lang’s heart and turned him into a blubbering, stuttering fool.

His brain couldn’t comprehend what his eyes were seeing.

Yuno was crying. Yuno, who only ever laughed, who found humor in everything, who hadn’t broken apart even when his best friend had shot him and left him to die. It didn’t make sense. It wasn’t something that should happen, yet, there was no denying that it was.

Lang didn’t know what to do.

He didn’t know how to deal with tears.

Even worse, they were running out of time. The cops would be here any minute. He needed to get Yuno out of the vault before it was too late. He didn’t want either of them to go to prison. He didn’t think Yuno could handle that at the moment.

A second later, and Lang was reaching for Yuno’s hand. He didn’t know why he was doing it, didn’t know if this would help Yuno at all, but something compelled him. He couldn’t sit back and do nothing. His hand slid into Yuno’s, and instantly, the other demon stilled.

There was a moment where Lang thought Yuno would say something, that he would pull away and insist that he was fine, even as tears still streamed out of his helmet and down his neck. Instead, Yuno squeezed, ever so softly.

It was all the answer that Lang needed.

He pulled Yuno to his feet and together, hand-in-hand, they went to find Tony and Ray. Lang tried not to show how much the little contact affected him, how aware he was of every little thing. Yuno was practically pressed into his side with how close they were walking.

“No luck?” Tony asked, his knife pressed to the hostage’s throat.

Lang shook his head. “We’ll get it next time.”

The confidence in his own voice was surprising. Lang realized that he still had full faith in Yuno. This wouldn’t be a common occurrence; it was a rare exception. Yuno was still his hacker, failure or no.

Besides, he’d invested too much in Yuno.

It would be stupid to quit now.

“Come on, habibi, it’ll be fine.” Ray pulled Yuno away from Lang, forcing Lang to let go of Yuno’s hand. Ray wrapped an arm around Yuno’s body, pressing the young demon into his side. The movement was so natural, like he did this with Yuno every day.

Something bitter twisted in Lang’s heart.

He tried to let it go, to forget the dark jealousy swirling inside him. He had no right to be jealous. Yuno wasn’t his alone to protect. In fact, he wasn’t his at all.

At least not yet.

The thought settled him, and Lang turned his attention to the cops. They may have failed this time, but they’d be back soon, better than ever. Lang was certain of it.

Chapter Text

The universe hated him.

That was the only explanation that Yuno could think of. He knew that people came to Rooster’s Rest all the time, that it was common knowledge now that he hung out with Lang, and that it would make sense for people to look for him there, but never did he expect to see Dundee there.

He was trying so damn hard to move on.

It seemed like the universe was laughing at him.

Yuno ducked his head, and tried to blend into the shadows. He needed to leave before Dundee noticed him. The problem was that Dundee was blocking the door. He couldn’t get out without going directly past him and Yuno wasn’t dressed subtly.

He wore his usual glowing shoes and bulky helmet.

There was no mistaking him for someone else.

“Hey, Uno!” A loud Australian voice made Yuno’s heart leap. He ducked into the back of the restaurant and tried to burn the image of a gun from his mind, how it had felt to be shot by his dearest friend, and how the betrayal still left a bitter taste in his mouth.

The door swung open and in stepped his worst nightmare.

“You’re avoiding me, motherfucker,” Dundee said. His voice was hard and his face was cut into angry lines, his eyes alight with fury, and there was something about him.

Something that made Yuno shiver.

“Sorry,” he said, but he wasn’t. Yuno was the furthest thing from sorry. If Dundee had expected them to remain friends after what he'd done, for everything to go back to normal, he was more crazy than Yuno had thought. “What do you want?”

Dundee stalked toward him. Yuno had no choice but to back up, his feet hitting the wall behind him. He still pressed closer against it, trying to escape the raging inferno that was Dundee’s ire. It didn’t make sense for him to be upset.

But he was, and Yuno would pay the price.

“No hello? No, how are you this time?” Dundee asked, his voice bitter and loud. Yuno wanted to disappear into himself, to escape before he said something that he’d regret. There was something burning and foreign within him, a hint of fear and something stronger.

Yuno wanted to scream at Dundee to leave, to leave just like how he’d left in the mines, while also simultaneously, he wanted to burst into tears, to curl into a tiny ball and leave this cruel world behind.

It was all too much, this was all too much—

“You motherfucker, you always were a little bitch—” Dundee raised his hand and Yuno squeezed his eyes shut, already anticipating the strike. He’d been hit before. He knew what to expect.

Except, the strike never came.

Yuno blinked and realized that there was someone standing between him and Dundee. His heart skipped a beat and surprise flickered through him. “Tony?” he asked.

“Right here, Yuno, is this fucker bothering you?” He sounded so serious, so goddamn angry, and Yuno couldn’t believe that it was over him. He’d thought Tony only tolerated his presence. He didn’t realize that somewhere along the way, Tony had come to care about him.

“I’m not bothering shit—”

“Yes,” Yuno said. “He’s bothering me.”

That was all Tony needed to hear. He wretched Dundee’s wrist, the one he’d caught in mid-air, and shoved Dundee toward the door. Dundee tried to whirl around, his face livid, and he reached for something. Yuno’s heart stopped and he opened his mouth to cry a warning.

“Not today, motherfucker,” Tony said and Yuno blinked at the gun pressed into Dundee’s side. It was clear that Tony had every intention of using it if Dundee didn’t drop his hand. Reluctantly, as if it physically pained him, Dundee let himself be forced out of the back.

“This isn’t over,” he shouted, and Yuno knew it was the truth. Dundee cared about Yuno in his own twisted way and he wouldn’t stop until Yuno accepted him back into his life. He still saw Yuno as his son, in some weird trick of fate, and he wasn’t one to let a kid leave.

Yuno slumped against the wall the second Dundee was out of sight. He tried to still his racing heart, to regain some level of control over his limbs, and center his breathing. He almost didn’t notice when Tony came back into the room.

He had a peculiar look on his face. “Yuno, you okay, buddy?”

“I’m–I’m fine.” It was a lie but Tony seemed to accept it.

“He shouldn’t be bothering you again, I made it clear that I’d kill him if he did.”

Yuno doubted that would deter Dundee, but it was nice that Tony had made an effort. Warmth spread in his heart and he realized that maybe, somewhere along the way, he’d come to care about Tony, too. Even if it was only a little. “Thanks, man,” he said.

Tony nodded. “Hey, I have an idea.”

“What is it?”

“Well, I had a race coming up, and I’m in need of some moral support.”

Yuno raised an eyebrow. “Moral support?”

“Yeah, it’s a real thing.”

It was obvious what Tony was trying to do. He was trying to offer Yuno a distraction and Yuno appreciated it more than he could ever admit out loud. He’d be a fool to turn him down.

“Alright, when do we leave?”

Tony flashed him a grin. “How about right now?”

***
Just as Yuno had thought, Tony definitely didn't need moral support. He raced like it was in his blood, like his car was an extension of himself. He was faster than everyone else by a mile, and a better driver than Yuno had ever imagined.

He was a little bit awestruck, if he was honest with himself.

“That was awesome,” he said.

Tony grinned. “That was nothing, just watch at our next heist.”

Instantly, Yuno’s smile dropped. He still couldn’t quite shake his guilt about failing the hack. It was the whole reason he’d been taken into the crew in the first place. If he couldn’t hack, then he was nothing.

“Hey, don’t look like that—we’ll get it next time.”

He sounded so sure. Just like Mr. Lang.

Somehow, that made it worse.

“No matter what happens, you’re our hacker, okay? I need you and so does Lang.”

Yuno knew that Tony was only trying to help, but it didn’t make him feel any better. He tried to forget it but he knew the reason Mr. Lang had brought him into the crew, the reason he’d bothered to save Yuno down in the mines, and it was because Yuno could hack.

Without his hacking, he was nothing.

“Look, I’ve known Lang for a long time, and you mean a lot to him even if he’s too stubborn to admit it. I haven’t seen him act like this since his wife died—it’s honestly a little frightening.”

Right.

Lang’s wife.

The same woman that was killed by angels.

Yuno had let himself become too comfortable. He had to remember that if Lang knew the truth, he wouldn’t care how good of a hacker Yuno was, or how much he supposedly cared about him, he would kill him on sight. The way he talked about angels, it was clear how much he hated them.

Nothing Yuno could do would ever change that.

“We–uh, we should head back to the house.”

Tony frowned. “Yuno–”

Yuno turned up the radio, and let it drown out anything Tony might’ve said. He didn’t want to talk about Lang and vowed that in the future, he’d be more careful. He wouldn’t let himself forget that at the end of the day, he was an angel, and Lang was a demon.

There was no escaping who they were.

Chapter Text

Yuno was avoiding him.

Lang knew it was true, even before he learned that Yuno hadn’t come into work the entire week. He had never officially hired Yuno but he’d grown used to seeing the hacker every morning. It was a nice little routine between them. Lang would complain about all the stuff he had to do, and Yuno would listen while getting him coffee or bouncing around the tables, never quite sitting still.

He was like a butterfly, always fluttering from one place to the next.

“Hey, Tony,” he said.

Tony glanced up and rolled his eyes. “What is it now?”

“Don’t use that tone with me, motherfucker.”

“Then stop asking me for shit.”

“I don’t ask for shit—”

“Tony, do this, Tony do that, blah, blah, blah,” Tony raised his voice in a mock imitation of Lang’s, and it made his blood boil. Tony was lucky that Lang didn’t sink his shadows on him. He was the one person that could get away with taunting him like this. “Be independent for once, Lang.”

Lang snorted. “We both know that you love getting me shit–so don’t even start.”

“Fine, fine, what is it this time?”

“I wanted to know about Yuno.”

Instantly, Tony sombered. He looked away. “I don’t think I’m the best person to ask—”

“Bullshit, I know that you went racing with him the other day. You must’ve said something to him because since that day, he hasn’t been the same. He makes any excuse he can think of to get away from me and whenever I bring up hacking, it's like talking to a brick wall.”

That wasn’t even mentioning what Yuno did when Lang did something that could be seen as remotely affectionate. He’d thought that saving Yuno would bring them closer, but if anything, it seemed like they’d never been further apart. Yuno flinched at even the slightest touch.

He’d always had a problem with staying still—but this, this was something else.

Tony grimaced. “I may have–well, I may have said something.”

“Tony, speak very carefully right now.”

“Alright, look, I just wanted him to understand that it didn’t matter if he failed the hacks, he was still one of us, that we would still care about him, either way.”

Lang studied Tony carefully. The other demon still wouldn’t meet his gaze. “You’re forgetting something,” Lang said, his voice sharp.

“Fine, fine, I may have–uh, I may have inadvertently compared how you act with Yuno to how you used to act with your wife.”

There was a roaring in Lang’s ears, a heat that consumed his entire body. Lang couldn’t hear if Tony said anything else. He struggled to control his shadows, to keep them from lashing out. He hadn’t realized that Tony could be so fucking stupid.

No wonder Yuno was distant with him.

He must’ve gotten the wrong idea and thought that because Lang acted differently around him, it meant something different than pure friendship. His heart dropped to think that Yuno thought he was romantically interested in him.

“I’m going to kill you,” Lang said.

Tony winced. “It wasn’t my finest moment.”

“I’m going to kill you,” Lang repeated, stronger this time.

“Wait, hold on, I can fix this—”

Shadows danced across Lang’s skin. It was becoming harder and harder to contain his anger. “I’m going to go find Yuno and when I get back, you better have done something useful, or I swear to fucking hell, Tony, that I will make good on my threats.”

Tony tried to protest but Lang was already half-way out the door. He didn’t care about Tony right now. He had to fix things with Yuno before it was too late. He could only imagine what Yuno had thought when Tony said that. He must’ve been so confused. He had never shown any romantic interest in Lang, so to learn that Lang might like him like that, well, no wonder he ran.

Lang didn’t even blame him.

***
“Yuno,” he called. “Wait for a moment!”

Yuno only walked faster, and Lang rushed after him. He couldn't let Yuno slip through his fingers yet again. He’d been trying for days to convince the hacker to talk to him and every time, Yuno had left before Lang had even gotten out the first sentence.

Admittedly, this wasn’t the most ideal time.

It was well past dinner and Lang had been just about to head home from the Rooster’s Rest when he’d caught sight of glowing shoes and a dark helmet. His heart had skipped a few beats and before he even knew what was happening, he’d been running.

Chasing after a demon who clearly wanted nothing to do with him.

He reached for Yuno and snatched his wrist. He pulled him backwards and Yuno stumbled, his arms flying out to catch himself. He ended up with his hands on Lang’s arms, his breaths uneven from the running and his face hidden by his helmet.

Lang longed to take it off, as he’d done in the mines.

“Sorry,” Lang said. “But I need to talk to you.”

Yuno tried to let go, as if burned, but Lang tightened his grip on Yuno’s wrist. He knew that it was wrong of him to force Yuno to stay, especially when he clearly didn’t want to, but his patience had worn thin. He’d do what had to be done, even if it made his heart beat a million times faster.

“Okay,” Yuno said. He stopped fighting Lang and just stood there. Lang didn’t know if this silent resignation hurt worse than the running and the fighting, but it certainly made his breath hitch. “What do you want to talk about?”

Lang didn’t have an answer for that. He’d had it all planned out in his head, how he would tell Yuno that he’d gotten the wrong idea, that Lang didn’t think about him in that way, but for some reason, his tongue refused to work. All the words got stuck in his throat.

It was all he could to stare.

“Mr. Lang?” Yuno asked, a note of concern entering his voice.

“You’ve been avoiding me.” The words weren’t what he’d been intending to say. They were accusatory, demanding, and he winced at himself.

Yuno shrugged. “I’ve just been busy.”

“Busy with what?”

“Busy living my life,” Yuno said. “That is allowed, isn’t it?”

It would’ve sounded bitter coming from anyone else but from Yuno, the question seemed genuine. His head was tilted to the side but his fingers were digging into his palms.

“Of course that’s allowed, it’s just—”

“Just what?”

Fuck, Yuno was really going to make Lang say it. He scowled and gritted his teeth. “Look, I don’t know what impression Tony gave you, but don’t listen to him. He doesn’t know shit.”

Yuno laughed, the sound light. “That’s one way to put it.”

“I care about you, yes, but not like that.”

Yuno hesitated. “Like what?”

“Well, you know,” –he coughed. “That’s not important, what matters is that I missed you, so I don’t want to see you avoiding me anymore, okay? I like talking to you, and I don’t want to lose that.”

It was probably his imagination, but he could've sworn that Yuno smiled.

“Thanks, Mr. Lang,” he said. “That means a lot.”

Something like guilt clawed at his heart. Lang knew that it was ridiculous. He needed Yuno to need him, he needed Yuno to become attached. This was all purely to get his hacker back, so it didn’t make sense why that made him feel so shitty.

This is what he’d always wanted.

In the corner of his vision, there was a flash of something. Lang narrowed his eyes and tried to look at it, but by the time he’d turned around, it was gone. He was left staring at empty space, his brow furrowed and he could’ve sworn that he’d seen something.

“Are you okay?” Yuno asked.

Lang shook himself out. “Yeah, sorry, I’m fine.”

Yuno brushed a hand across his forehead and Lang’s heart skipped a beat at the contact. A blush crept onto his cheeks and he ducked his head away, wondering what the fuck was wrong with him.

“Ouch that’s hot,” Yuno said and despite knowing that he didn’t mean it like that, Lang still couldn’t help it when his blush intensified. “Perhaps you’re coming down with something?”

“Yeah, I–uh, that’s probably it.”

He dropped Yuno’s other hand and took a few steps back, trying to regain composure.

“See you tomorrow?” Yuno asked.

Lang nodded, unable to form any words. He left before he could really consider why his heart was beating so fast, or why his hands were so damn sweaty.

None of it made sense.

Chapter Text

Lang went back to the house.

He could think of nothing else but how it had felt to hold Yuno’s hand. Delicate and small, it was like holding the petals of a flower, one that would wilt and die if handled too harshly. He wanted to cherish that moment, to burn it into his memory, and he wondered what would’ve happened if he’d removed Yuno’s helmet and leaned in.

Lang shook himself out—heat creeping up to his face. He was being ridiculous. He didn’t want that. Yuno was purely a means to an end, someone to use and then discard.

So then why, why was he still thinking about it?

Something cold and hard dug into his neck.

Lang froze in place. His entire brain stopped working. He stood there, unmoving, and a voice echoed behind him, one that made his blood run cold. “Lang Buddha, it’s been a long time, hasn’t it?”

He knew that voice. He hated that voice.

That voice haunted his nightmares.

Faster than he could blink, Lang slammed his elbow back and reached for his dagger. There was a cry of pain and then, Lang was flying. His head hit the wall and he blinked furiously, adrenaline and fury forming a deadly combination within him.

He’d waited twenty years for this.

His beautiful, brilliant revenge.

Shadows swelled on his skin and they roared with his rage. They were hungry, carnivorous, and they flooded the room, searching and seeking for flesh and blood. Lang tried to blink away the darkness in his vision and focus on the darkness surging out of him.

“I’m going to kill you,” he spat.

A figure came into view and Hell, she hadn’t changed at all. Nearly two decades later and she still wore the exact same white dress, her hair pulled back into intricate braids. Her wings flared out behind her and they were beautiful in the way that a hurricane was: destructive and terrible.

Lang wanted to wring her pretty little neck.

He wanted to see her bleed golden rivers across his floor.

The angel laughed, and light exploded out of her. It consumed the room, it burned his eyes and Lang was plunged into darkness, his shadows extinguished like they were never there at all. Someone delivered a sharp kick to his ribs and he groaned.

“You’re still just as pathetic as back then, Little Prince,” the angel said.

Cold chains settled around his wrists and Lang knew that he had to fight back. He wanted more than anything to rip that smug smile off her face and watch her burn a thousand fiery deaths. He struggled against his bindings, earning him another sharp kick.

This one to the face.

Lang spat out blood.

“I don’t know what our son sees in him.” This voice was distinctively male, and just as conceited as the first. Lang tried to make out his face, to focus on this newcomer, but he couldn't. The world was spinning so badly and he was yanked to his feet. Someone titled his chin upwards and he stared into a face that was all too familiar.

Dark wild hair paired with bright green eyes, the color of holly leaves, but with a dark twist. Lang didn’t want to believe it. He was convinced these angels were fucking with him. He hadn’t heard of angels shape-shifting before, but that didn’t mean it was impossible.

The newcomer slapped him.

It made the world swim in and out of focus and Lang struggled to stay conscious. He tried to call back his shadows, to defend himself, but just like that night so long ago, it was like calling for something that didn’t exist. He was helpless, his powers useless.

Black blood dripped from his face, and a finger swiped through it. Lang flinched and the woman laughed. “Not so tough are we now, Little Prince? Don’t worry, we have no intention of killing you, at least not yet, that’ll come later.”

Lang swallowed back bile. It was becoming increasingly difficult to fight the darkness clouding the edges of his mind. He bit the inside of his cheek, and the pain helped center him. He watched, unable to look away, as the woman started to write with his blood.

Long, elegant slashes in a black the color of ink. It was in some language that Lang couldn't read. He recognized it as ancient biblical text and wondered who the hell they were leaving it for. It wasn’t like any of his crew would be able to decipher it.

Perhaps they just wanted to incite panic.

Make it known that no one was safe.

The woman drew away from her work, and admired it for a moment.

“Perfect,” she said, and her smile was vicious. It was the exact same smile she’d worn when she’d lit the fire that killed his wife. It was an evil like none he had ever seen before. “Come on, demon filth.”

Lang was forced to his feet. He was forced to walk toward the door, even as every nerve in his body screamed at him to stay. He couldn’t leave. If he left he was as good as dead.

Although, in all honesty, the moment that they’d decided to finish the job they started all those years ago, that was the moment Lang was dead. No demon could stand up to an angel. Even if help did arrive, it would only result in more violence and death.

No, it was better this way.

He just wished that he’d said goodbye. He had so many things he still wanted to say, to Tony, to his crew, to every single person he’d ever had the displeasure of knowing. But most of all, he wished that he’d said goodbye to Yuno. He wished that he’d have known.

If he’d known, then this wouldn’t hurt so bad.

At least, as a small consolation, he’d be dead soon, and the dead felt no pain.

He could only hope that the angels were feeling merciful. He could only pray to a god that didn’t want him, a god that thought he was unworthy, unholy, less than dirt, that his death would be swift.

It was all a demon could hope for.

Chapter Text

The house was burning.

That was the first thing that Tony noticed when he returned from a race. He stared in shock at the flames that only seemed to grow brighter every second that passed, the flames that crept ever closer and the terrible knowledge that Lang was supposed to be home today.

What if he was inside?

Panic sparked to life within him. He quickly parked his car and was about to run for the house, for the open door, when he realized that there was a message written in the grass. It was in a language that Tony hadn’t seen for years, one he’d almost forgotten existed, but there was no denying its existence now, the only thing untouched in a sea of flames.

He scrambled for his phone.

Lang didn’t pick up.

Tony stared at the house before him, the one that they’d bought in the meantime, before they could upgrade to something bigger, and he didn’t understand. Who the hell would want to set it on fire? And why the fuck was there biblical text on their front lawn?

For some reason, Tony called Yuno.

“Hey, Tony, how’s it going—?”

“Are you with him?”

Yuno fell silent. “With who?”

“With Lang.”

Tony held his breath, hoping and praying that somehow, Lang’s little chat with Yuno had taken longer than he’d expected, that he hadn’t returned home and found this fucking mess greeting him. Or, even worse, if he was burning alive inside the house right now, wondering why the hell Tony wasn’t saving him, and how best to get his revenge in the afterlife.

“Mr. Lang?” Yuno repeated. “Tony, you’re scaring me—”

“Please, tell me that he’s with you.”

This was a new low for Tony. He’d never heard himself sound so desperate before, so frantic, but he couldn't help the panic and fear that seeped into his voice. For all the shit that he gave Lang, he was his one true friend, the person that would stick with him through everything.

He couldn’t imagine life without him.

“He—he left an hour ago.”

Tony cursed violently and he stared at the house. The smoke was making it hard to breathe, making it hard to think, and he knew that if Lang was inside there, if he’d been there when the fire started, he certainly wasn’t now. Demons could survive a lot, but not this.

No one could survive this.

“Fuck,” he whispered.

“Tony—please, tell me what’s wrong, I can help.”

It was stupid and foolish of Tony to involve Yuno. He knew that if Lang was indeed alive —and Tony couldn't even consider the alternative— that he would want Yuno as far from this shit as possible. He might pretend that he only cared about Yuno as a hacker, but Tony knew the truth.

He knew his friend better than that.

“Come to the house,” he said.

Yuno hesitated, then said, “Okay.”

Tony could only hope that he wouldn't be too late.

***

By the time Yuno arrived, the house was nothing but ashes and cinders. It was completely and utterly destroyed, but the surrounding areas, the grass, the other houses, they’d been left untouched. It was like the fire had had one purpose and one purpose only: to destroy their house.

And now that it had done that, it died just like it began.

Quick and without warning.

Tony was left staring at ancient, foreign words. He was left wondering who had possibly seen fit to burn their house to the ground, and if this was truly as bad as he thought it was, if the burning sigil of a cross was meant to intimidate, or if it said more.

If this message had another meaning.

One he wasn’t privy to knowing.

“Tony?” Yuno called.

He turned to Yuno. “You made it,” he said.

“What happened?” Yuno’s voice was high, and Tony imagined that beneath his helmet, his eyes were wide, his face pale, as he surveyed the scene, as he took in the embers that hadn’t quite died yet, and the words that underlaid it all. He seemed to stop moving entirely, coming to a halt at the sight of the blood-stained grass and Tony couldn’t help but frown when Yuno said, “No, no, no, this can’t—this can’t be happening.”

“Yuno,” he said. “Do you know something?”

“Mr. Lang, is he here? Is he alright?”

This was the most emotion that Tony had ever heard from Yuno. He’d always seemed so removed from it all, laughing and smiling, sure, but never genuine fear, not like right now. Yuno was shaking, trembling so hard it was a miracle that he was even still standing.

The look on Tony’s face must’ve said it all.

Yuno’s knees gave out beneath him.

He stared at the burning words on their lawn, at the sigil that was drawn in blood, a black so dark it might’ve been ink, but they both knew that it wasn’t. Tony hadn’t wanted to admit it, didn’t want to accept it, and yet, the truth was glaringly obvious.

This was clearly a hate crime.

Some pissy angel had decided to make hell come early, and took it out on Lang, or maybe more likely, someone wanted to make them believe that it was angels, when in reality, this was just another crazy motherfucker who thought they could pull one over on Lang Buddha.

Little did they know how wrong they were.

Tony watched Yuno examine the words and it was funny, because he could’ve sworn that Yuno was reading them, that he flinched at whatever they said, but that was ridiculous. These were words of the gods, something no demon could ever know, which begged the question of who wrote them.

No demon should be able to.

“Tony,” Yuno said.

And it was something about his voice.

Gone was the sweet, innocent hacker that Tony had come to care for, the one that laughed at everything, who befriended everyone, no matter their past or their temper. Tony didn’t know if this was the true Yuno, or if this was just a side of himself that he rarely showed.

One he kept under lock and key.

“They have him,” he said.

Tony’s heart skipped a beat. “You know who did this?”

Yuno nodded. His helmet was fixed to the words, to a language that he couldn’t possibly understand, and Tony could’ve sworn that he did understand, which was ridiculous. Lang had informed him a long time ago that Yuno was a familiar demon, and Tony had given him shit for it since.

No wonder Lang was head over heels for him.

He couldn’t help but want to protect someone who clearly couldn’t protect themselves.

“I have to go,” Yuno said. He scrambled to his feet and Tony panicked, his arm shooting out.

“Wait, wait, go where? We still need to find Lang—”

“Don’t worry, I’ll bring him back safe, I promise.”

“Yuno, what the fuck are you doing—”

Yuno was already in his car, the one he’d no doubt rented this morning. The engine roared to life and Tony tried to stop him from leaving, pounding his first on the windows. Yuno didn’t even seem to notice. He was muttering something under his breath, and Tony longed to be able to hear him, to understand what was happening.

It was clear that Yuno knew more than he was telling.

Somehow, he knew where Lang was, and who had done this to him. Tony needed an explanation, he needed to know how, but in that moment, he needed something else more. He needed to make sure that his best friend was alive, he needed to believe that he could still be saved.

“I’m coming with you,” he shouted.

Finally, Yuno took notice.

He shook his head. “I’m sorry, but I have to do this alone.”

Tony wanted to scream at him. He wanted to beg him not to leave, to not run away like everyone else, to be included, for once in his goddamn life. Tony was used to being dismissed, to being ignored, he was a changeling, a half human, half demon nobody.

Before Lang, he’d been nothing.

“Please,” he whispered.

But Yuno didn’t hear him. He was too far gone, too lost in his own head, Tony’s voice fading into the background, becoming just another part of their environment, and just like that, Yuno left. He drove away and he didn't look back. He didn’t even say goodbye.

Tony was left standing in the street, next to the words that had shaken Yuno so badly that he couldn't even explain himself, next to the house that he’d grown quite fond of, if he was honest, and through it all, all he could think was: Please, don’t let him be dead.

Don’t let me lose someone else.

Chapter Text

Yuno couldn’t believe that this was happening.

He’d convinced himself that his sister had seen the error of her ways, that he was safe here in Los Santos, and now, his foolishness, his idiocy, had likely gotten Lang killed. The words on the grass weren’t ink—he knew that much. They were blood, a message written to him.

We have him.

If you want your little demon back

Find him where the heavens touch this godforsaken city.

There was only one place that could be. There was only one place where it seemed like the sky itself was falling down, where if one raised their arms, they might trick themselves into believing they were touching the stars; it was Chilliad.

They’d taken Lang to Chilliad.

Every muscle, every part of his body, screamed at him to go there immediately. He needed to make sure that Lang was still alive, that there was still hope to save him, but he had to do something first. There was something he needed back at the apartments, something he had to find.

He went there at once.

What he didn’t expect was Dundee.

The other man was loitering out front, leaning against the building. There was a cigarette in his mouth and his clothes were crumpled, old, like he hadn’t changed them in weeks. He was directly blocking the entrance; there was no way to avoid him.

So Yuno didn’t try to.

He walked up to Dundee and said, “Move.”

Nothing more, nothing less.

Right now he had bigger things to worry about, bigger people to consider his enemy than an ex-best friend. Dundee had made it clear that he didn’t care about Yuno, so why should Yuno spare him a single thought now, in his moment of crisis?

“Uno, please, don’t—”

“Dundee.”

Something about his name silenced Dundee. It was enough to stun him and Yuno took his chance. He tried to slide past Dundee, to get to his apartment, his heart beating like a drum inside him, like a clock ticking slowly downward, but a hand snatched at his wrist.

It kept him trapped.

His upper lip curled in disgust. “Let go of me,” he snapped.

He tried to yank his arm away and Dundee only held on tighter, his eyes turning wide, turning desperate. It was pathetic, really, to watch him plead. “Please, talk to me, Uno.”

“I have nothing to say to you.”

“But I’m your friend, you can’t ignore your friends—”

Yuno laughed; he couldn’t help it. “No friend would do what you did.” It was bitter, cold, and nothing like his normal laugh. “I always did see you as family, that moment only solidified it.”

A brief look of hope passed over Dundee. “That’s right, I’m family, Uno—”

“Family is always who hurts me the most.” It wasn’t good to be his family, wasn’t an honor. It was a title he bestowed to the worst kind of people, the people who claimed they loved him, all while stabbing him in the back, just like Dundee did. Yuno could only hope he was wrong about Lang.

He could only hope that his parents weren’t involved.

But he couldn't think of another explanation.

Dundee had paled in front of him, as if just realizing that maybe what he did, that shooting Yuno in the head and leaving him to die, was unforgivable. It was just starting to set in that for once, Yuno wouldn’t be forgiving him. “Wait, please, I’m sorry—”

“Too little, too late.”

No apology would fix this now.

Yuno was done taking shit from family, pretending that they’d only done what they did because they cared about him. The truth was that if they cared about him, they wouldn’t hurt him. Those who loved him shouldn’t be the same people who broke his heart; it wasn’t right.

“Goodbye, Dundee.”

He left without another glance.

***

The ride to Chilliad was long.

He’d never noticed how far Chilliad was from the city. It felt like an eternity before he reached the peak, and the entire time, Yuno was a mess of nerves and fear. He couldn’t believe that this was actually happening, that after years of running, he was facing his parents head-on.

It went against everything he stood for.

When he’d left, he’d meant it to be forever.

But he couldn’t leave Mr. Lang. He couldn’t leave him at the mercy of his family because he knew how angels worked. They were more than happy to dispose of demons. They saw them as cockroaches, tiny insects that they could crush under their heels, and Yuno couldn’t let that happen.

He owed it to Mr. Lang to save him.

It was his fault Mr. Lang was in this situation.

His car rumbled to a halt and Yuno stepped out into the cold. The wind whipped at his cheeks, stinging his eyes, and he was glad the night seemed clear. Snow would only make it easier for someone to sneak up on him, and he needed all the advantages he could get right now.

He’d never been a fighter.

But perhaps he could talk his parents down. Maybe in the years he’d been away, they’d seen reason and only wanted to talk to him. It wasn’t right to kidnap Mr. Lang to do that, to force him to talk, but assuming they let Mr. Lang go unharmed, Yuno could overlook that.

He caught his first glimpse of them.

His parents, the same people who’d tried to force him into their perfect little world. They were exactly as he remembered. His mother and her long, raven-black hair. His father and his bright green eyes, the eyes of their family, and sure enough, Ray Mond was there as well.

She stood silently behind their parents.

Her hands fidgeted at her sides and when she saw him, she went still. Tension crackled in the air, the weight of it near crushing, but Yuno only had eyes for one person. His gaze went to Lang.

To his crumpled form.

He was crouched on his knees before Yuno’s parents. His head hung limply but when he heard the snow crunch under Yuno’s feet, he lifted his head. His eyes widened. He stared at Yuno like Yuno was a ghost, like somehow, if he stared long enough, Yuno would disappear.

But Yuno wouldn’t disappear.

Not this time.

Not when his parents had taken what was his.

“I wish I could say it’s nice to see you,” he said. “But it’s a sin to lie.”

Lang’s wings were sprawled out behind him and Yuno didn’t know why Lang didn’t fly away. He didn’t know why until he realized that Lang’s wings were clipped. They’d not only bound his wrists; they’d stolen his freedom and even if Lang wanted to, there was nothing he could do.

He was helpless.

“Yuno, run!” Lang shouted. His voice was hoarse, scraped raw, but it carried over the wind, making Yuno freeze. He blinked, uncomprehending at Lang. “Yuno—” Lang was struck upside the head with a gun and Yuno’s father laughed as Lang slumped to the ground.

Black blood ran down his face.

Everything about it was wrong.

Anger stirred to life inside him and he took a step forward, not sure what he intended to do but knowing that he couldn’t sit back, he couldn’t sit back and leave Lang in their clutches, when someone blocked his path; it was Ray Mond.

Her eyes were wide, worried.

“Brother,” she said. “Think about this.”

If Yuno rushed in, he’d be as good as dead. He could never beat his parents in an actual fight. They were angel nobility and Yuno was never the strongest when it came to combat. His skill lied with words, with silver-tongued phrases and a sweet, innocent smile.

Still, he had to do something.

“Please,” he said. “Let Mr. Lang go.”

That was all that mattered. He just had to make sure that Mr. Lang made it home safe and then he could deal with his parents. He could tell them that he wasn’t going back to the Celestial City.

Not now, not ever.

“I can’t believe it,” his mother’s voice rang out over the mountain-side. It was velvet and caramel and it stuck to Yuno’s skin, making him shift uncomfortably. He hated the sound of her voice, hated the reminder of all the verbal abuse he’d endured under her roof. “I knew that you were damaged, that something was fundamentally broken within you, but I could never imagine this.”

She tutted and Yuno didn’t understand.

Sure, he’d left, but was that really so bad? His morals were the same. He hadn’t hurt anyone, had refused to touch a gun, and if they were talking about sinful actions, shouldn’t kidnapping someone and making them bleed be at the top of that list?

“Mother—” he winced at himself.

God, he hated calling her that.

Her lip curled in disgust. “You can’t even greet your own mother anymore, honestly, this city has made you just as bad as them. I can’t even recognize you like this; where did my son go and what demon, what devil, has taken his place?”

None.

Yuno was the same person he’d always been; she’d just been too blind to see it. She’d refused to admit that her son wasn’t happy in the Celestial City, refused to see that Yuno wasn’t like the other angels. He couldn’t live in a gilded cage, no matter how pretty that cage was.

The Celestial City was beautiful.

But he didn’t miss it.

“I’m still me,” he said. “I just learned some things.” He learned that he didn’t need to take their shit, that he didn’t need to stay around people who hurt him. There was such a strong emphasis on family in the Celestial City but Yuno didn’t need them; he’d survived on his own for long enough.

“Son.” His father’s voice was cold. “You’re better than this, better than them.”

Them, as in demons.

Them, as in the scum of the earth.

But Yuno was friends with demons. Every single person he’d met in Los Santos was a demon or demon equivalent, and Yuno had grown to realize that everything he’d learned growing up was wrong. Sure, demons could be cruel and heartless, but they were people.

They were people who lived and laughed and loved.

Who cried and bled and hurt, just like him.

The only difference was the color of their blood and the color of their wings. Angels could be just as cruel, just as heartless, if his parents were any indication; except, they were worse than demons. They were worse than demons because they lied to themselves and claimed that their actions, their sins, weren’t sins at all but that they were just and true and right.

This wasn’t right.

It wasn’t right to leave a trail of bodies in their wake, to paint the world black, to kill and murder and hurt people who’d done nothing to them. Lang was innocent. He didn’t deserve to be hurt, didn’t deserve to have his wings clipped or be forced to kneel. His only crime was being Yuno’s friend.

“Please,” Yuno tried again. “Let Mr. Lang go; he has nothing to do with this.”

His parents laughed and it made Yuno’s skin crawl. He hated their laugh, hated that they found pleasure in other people’s pain and suffering. Yuno had promised himself that he wouldn’t be like them. He would laugh, yes, but it wouldn’t be at another’s detriment.

It would be with them.

“You really care about him,” Ray said. She was still standing close to Yuno, still blocking his path, and her eyes were wide at the realization, her face paling. “How—how is that possible?”

It wasn’t hard to understand.

Mr. Lang was his friend; of course Yuno cared about him.

“Ray—”

“Look, sweetie—” his mother practically snarled the nickname, and it made Yuno sick, made him want to run far, far away— “You’ve strayed from the sacred light and it’s time you return to what’s holy, what’s sacred. You must repent for your sins, and that starts with it.” She jerked her head at Lang, a wicked smile on her face, at the same moment that Ray tossed something into the snow between them. She stepped aside, her face unreadable, and Yuno stared.

He stared at the knife at his feet.

At the implications of such a thing.

Their mother’s voice cut into him, sharper than any blade, parading as love, as affection. “My son,” she said. “Kill this demon, this piece of filth, and find forgiveness in the Lord.”

Find forgiveness.

Find forgiveness by killing someone.

Was his mother out of her goddamn mind? There was not a single world, a single plane of existence, in which killing someone would ever erase his sins, nor would it fix this. Hurting Lang solved nothing. It would only make Yuno more resentful, more desperate to leave.

He couldn’t do this.

But that knife—it didn’t move. It stayed where it was, buried in the snow, and his mother, God, she looked so fucking pleased with herself. So happy that she’d told her son to kill the one person who hadn’t betrayed him, who had given him a chance despite everything telling him not to.

Lang was his one true friend.

Yuno wouldn’t lose that.

“No.” He shook his head. “I won’t do it.”

He wouldn’t pick up that knife, and he certainly wouldn't kill Lang with it. If his mother had known her son at all, if any of his family had ever actually known him, then they would know that. They would know that he despised violence, that it made him sick to his stomach to even hold a knife.

Much less use one.

His mother cocked her head. “You won’t do it?”

She seemed genuinely perplexed by the idea, her smile fading. It was as if she couldn’t imagine that her son would defy her. Even after he left, she still saw him as her scared little child, the boy who would’ve done anything for her approval, but Yuno wasn’t that person anymore.

He’d learned and he’d left.

Something shifted in his mother’s face. Her features turned dark, warped into a monstrous approximation of the woman he’d once known, once loved; there was no love between them now. “I think you’ve misunderstood, sweetie, because you seem to think you have a choice.”

She didn’t break eye-contact with him.

This wasn’t asking him to do something; this was telling him that he would kill Lang. She didn’t care about the act itself; she cared about control.

Power.

She wanted power over him, and she didn’t care who she hurt in the process. She’d always been a heartless bitch, but this was a new low, even for his mother; then again, she didn’t see demons as people. She saw them as bugs, insects to crush under her feet.

Why should she care if they died?

They were nothing more than pests.

But to Yuno, they were friends, acquaintances, people he’d spent months with. He could no longer see them as pests and he only wished his mother could see what he did. If only she knew the truth, that demons weren’t lesser, weren’t inferior, then maybe this wouldn’t have to happen.

Maybe he could actually be happy.

But right now, none of that mattered. All that mattered was Lang, and the fact that he hadn’t looked up, hadn’t moved, since he was struck with the gun; what if he was hurt?

“I won't do it, Mom.”

He wouldn’t hurt Lang further.

Silence enveloped them. Not a word was spoken, not a breath was taken, in the quiet that fell on the mountain. Yuno realized that he could see the entire city, sprawled at their feet. He’d always loved the sight of the city at night, but up here, it was beautiful.

He could almost pretend that everything was fine.

That this was a normal night and that he and Lang were just here for a little bit of fun, some midnight star-gazing, like they’d done back at the observatory, but those peaceful times were long gone. Even if they both survived this, even if his parents let him leave, Los Santos was no longer safe.

He couldn’t stay here.

Not if at any moment, his parents could change their mind and drag him back to heaven.

“Fine,” his mother said. “If you insist on making this difficult, if you refuse to make the right choice, I will do what any good mother would; I’ll offer you some persuasion.”

His skin prickled.

He didn’t like the sound of that. “You won’t change my mind—”

“At first, I didn’t think you would come.” There was something sparking, something burning in his mother’s eyes. Yuno shifted on his feet, unsure of where this was going. “You’ve avoided us for so long so when your sister told us where you were, we were overjoyed. I thought I’d get my son back.”

She was a fool for thinking that.

Yuno wasn’t to blame for her stupidity.

His mother took a step forward, and her shadow devoured Lang. “Little did I know that my son, my own flesh and blood, had not only started consorting with demons, but had fallen for one too.”

Fallen for one?

But that—no, that wasn’t right.

“I see it in your eyes, so don’t bother denying it.” His mother lowered her perfect fingers, long and lithe, the same fingers that had helped Yuno hack countless banks, and settled them on Lang’s face. “This demon, this piece of filth—” she jerked his head up, and Yuno winced. His mother tracked the movement, her eyes darkening, and her next words were cold, distant: “You love him.”

Oh.

Fuck.

The impact of those words, the suggestion of loving someone, hit him like the earth after a thousand foot drop. He didn’t know what to do, what to say, in response to such an absurd accusation; Yuno had loved very few people in his life, and yes, he cared about Mr. Lang.

A lot, actually.

He thought about him near constantly and whenever he saw the demon, he couldn’t help the smile that lit up his face, brighter than any star or any god. It was easy to laugh around Mr. Lang, easy to live in the moment and forget all the things that had brought him there.

But that didn’t mean he loved him.

Love was something else—something more.

“You’re pathetic,” his mother spat. Her fingers dug into Lang’s chin, her nails etching long black scratches into his skin, and Yuno’s heart jumped into his chest. He knew first-hand how strong her hands could be, how easily they slipped and broke things. “My own son, a disgrace.”

Yuno turned his gaze to his father, to Ray. One of them had to see that this was wrong, that his mother was acting crazy, but it was a fool’s hope. His father’s face was passive, disinterested, and he refused to look at Yuno, refused to look at his own son and be face-to-face with his biggest mistake.

The one thing he could never perfect.

Ray, on the other hand, was staring. Her bright gaze, so familiar, so similar, to his own, couldn’t seem to tear itself away from his face. She was studying him, trying to understand, to pick him apart before it was too late, but it was already too late and she’d made her choice.

She’d told their parents.

And that was unforgivable.

“Yuno Sykk,” his mother said, “What a stupid name.” She dropped Lang’s face, and he slumped forward, unable to sit up straight any longer. The blood on his forehead had dried into long, dark streaks, and it made him seem foreign, like he really was an evil demon.

Exactly like Yuno’s mother claimed.

“If you were anyone else,” she said. “I would kill you where you stand, but because you’re family, because my blood runs in your veins, I will give you one last chance: come home, my son.”

Yuno laughed.

It bubbled out of him, bitter and hateful.

“I’m not your son,” he said. “And the Celestial City was never my home.”

That place had only ever been a cage to Yuno. He wouldn’t return to that life, wouldn't be forced back into a world he despised, into a position where he was forced to hide, or change himself. He’d tried so hard to fit in there, to be the perfect kid his parents wanted him to be, but there was no pleasing them and the reality was that perfection didn’t exist—at least not for him.

He’d never be perfect.

And it was time he stopped trying to be.

His mother smiled. It was so much like his own smile, sweet and innocent and no one would expect what was lurking beneath, the viper that hid in the grass. Before he could think, before he could process what was happening, there was a blinding flash of light and a scream of pain.

His heart jumped into his throat.

He tried to move toward them, to stop whatever horrible atrocity his mother was committing, but someone tackled him to the ground. They pressed him into the dirt, even as he writhed and shouted, the light searing his eyes, making it impossible for him to see what was happening.

Curses fell from his lips.

“Ray, I swear to fucking God—” he needed her off of him. He needed to see what was wrong; he needed to see who had screamed, even though he knew who. There was only one person in a position of vulnerability, only one person who was bound and helpless, unable to run away.

Another scream lit up the night.

Followed by cursing—a stream of unintelligible words. Yuno didn't know what was being said, he only knew that voice and would recognize it anywhere; it was Mr. Lang.

And he was in pain.

“Ray, please—” tears streamed down his face. “I need to help him.” He couldn’t let Lang be hurt, let him be tortured, for Yuno’s decision. It was his decision to not return home. If anyone should be tortured, it should be Yuno himself; he would gladly suffer to spare Lang.

Fire sprung to life in front of him.

It formed a circle around Lang and his parents.

There was something off about it—something that made Yuno cringe. It wasn’t normal fire, wasn’t something that any sane person—angel or demon—could survive. It crackled and hissed and roared with life, with divinity, and there was no other name for it; it was holy fire.

“Be not afraid, son,” his father said. “Your salvation has come.”

This didn’t feel like salvation. This felt like hell had come early, like his nightmares had bled into real life, and he didn’t know what to do, could barely see, through the tears and the flames. He could just barely make out his parents, looming tall, over a crumpled figure.

A demon with blood pooling around him.

Was he even still breathing? Yuno couldn’t tell.

His mother lowered her hand, and light exploded from it. The light devoured the crumpled figure once more, making Lang jerk, his limbs flying out at awkward angles, his head rolling back; he was being electrocuted, burned from the inside out, and the screaming started again.

“Stop!” Yuno cried. “Please, stop!”

The screaming didn’t stop.

It continued and time lost meaning, lost weight. All Yuno knew was that Lang was suffering, that it was Yuno’s fault he was in this predicament in the first place. Yuno never should’ve come to Los Santos. He never should’ve let Lang get close, never should’ve fallen for him.

Lang’s life would be better without him in it.

“Fine!” he shouted. “I’ll come home, please, I’ll do anything you want, just, please, please, make it stop—” his voice broke, shattered, splintered, in the cold mountain air, and the screams died. They died as quickly as they started, fell into an overwhelming silence.

His mother smiled, and it made him sick.

Bile rose in his throat.

“I knew you’d make the right choice,” she said, before her gaze dropped to Lang, to the crumpled demon at her feet. “Disgusting,” she spat, and offered a sharp kick to his ribs. It made Yuno wince, and he was glad when Lang groaned; it meant he was still alive.

Somehow, Lang managed to sit up.

He swayed as he did, his eyes fluttering closed and for a brief moment, Yuno was convinced that they’d never open again, that Lang had hauled himself up, only to die on Yuno. It was only when Lang dragged his eyes open that Yuno let himself relax.

Ray shifted off him.

She let him get up, offering him a small smile that he didn’t return, and when she offered him her hand as well, he didn’t take it. He dragged himself up because the very sight of her, let alone touching her, made him want to scream and claw at his own skin, to tear his hair from its scalp.

He didn’t want this.

He didn’t want to go back.

But he didn’t have a choice; his mother had made that clear. “Welcome back, my dear son.” Her voice was warm and light and God, how was this the same woman who’d tortured someone moments before? “Your salvation will be a slow process, but in time, you will learn what it means to be holy again.” Her smile twisted into a wicked grin. “Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for it.”

Right as the words left her mouth, Yuno realized how close Lang and his parents had gotten to the edge of the mountain. They were hanging right at the cliff side, overlooking the entire city. He watched, horror-filling him, as his mother gave Lang one mighty shove.

That was all it took.

All it took for him to tumble off the side of the mountain.

Yuno screamed his name, and he didn’t realize he was moving until he’d crossed the distance between his parents and him. His wings unfurled, brilliant and blinding, and he only realized at the last second that the holy fire was still there; it hadn’t been extinguished.

But it was too late to stop now.

So he walked through it.

His wings caught fire and the smell of burning flesh threatened to choke him, pain and grief and panic blending together, becoming a monster he couldn’t face. Someone shouted at him; probably his parents, or his sister, but he wasn’t listening; they weren’t his priority.

They weren’t what mattered.

He didn’t think, didn’t hesitate, as he stepped off the mountain. His feet struck empty air and a second later, he was falling. His feathers set aflame, his clothes melting from his body, as he plummeted toward the city far below.

A figure caught his attention.

It was Mr. Lang.

He was falling faster than Yuno, and he was trying to right himself, trying to fly, only to realize that his wings were still clipped; there was nothing he could do. Panic gave way to fear and after a few seconds, fear gave way to acceptance; Lang would die here tonight.

Or at least, that’s what he thought.

Yuno had no intention of letting him die.

He tucked his wings in and dove, using his momentum to propel through the air. His hand reached for Lang, even as his body screamed in pain, and the two of them collided. One burning, one bleeding, one divine, one hellish, but at the end of the day, they were people.

People who wanted to survive.

Who wanted to save each other.

Yuno pulled Lang to his body, and they were still falling. At this rate, by the time they reached the bottom, all his feathers would be gone and they’d be as good as dead, which meant he only had one choice; he stuck out his wings, and tried to fly.

Each wingbeat, each stroke, was torture.

His feathers were weak and ashen, black and crumbling from the holy fire, and he was certain that at any moment, his wings would give out. He was certain that they’d go tumbling to the earth below, that they’d shatter into a thousand tiny pieces, but somehow, against all odds, his wings held.

For once in his life, he experienced a miracle.

By the time they reached the top, Yuno had no more strength left. He used what was remaining, his thoughts sluggish, feverish, to tuck Lang against his body, his damaged wings wrapping around them both, and braced for impact.

It wasn’t pretty.

Without the snow, they’d be dead.

He managed to lift his head, even as pain radiated through him at the movement. His back felt like someone had taken an axe to it, like they’d hacked into it again and again and again. He couldn’t feel his wings themselves, which should’ve concerned him, but he was too tired to care.

The only thing that mattered was Lang.

He was safe, and he was alive.

Yuno could feel his heart beating against his fingers; it was slower than he would’ve liked but the fact that it was there at all was a miracle. He cradled Lang to his chest and he thought he’d never let go, that he’d cradle him in his arms forever, and words fell from his lips.

They dropped to the earth, same as his tears.

Same as his blood.

It was pooling around them, gold and black mixing into a marbled pattern, like the veins of a volcano, only this volcano was long overdue for an eruption. The only thing holding him back was Mr. Lang. Mr. Lang, who Yuno had almost gotten killed. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I never meant for this to happen.”

He never meant for any of this at all.

Chapter Text

Lang only stared up at Yuno.

He stared at the angel who’d lied to him, who’d pretended to be his friend, who’d jumped off a mountain to save him. They were surrounded by blood—both his and Yuno’s—and tears soaked Yuno’s pretty face; it was almost unfair how good he looked, even while crying.

Even while bleeding.

For Hell’s sake, his wings were lying broken around them. They were a pile of charred feathers, blood, and everything that made Yuno who he was. Angels took pride in their wings. They treated them like their prized possession, the thing that proved their holiness, their divinity.

But Yuno, he’d burned them to save Lang.

To save a demon.

Lang wanted to hate him. He wanted to hate Yuno because it was angels who destroyed his life. It was angels who’d tortured him, who’d stolen his future, and killed his wife. They’d killed his wife in front of him, the very same angels who’d taken him today.

The same angels who were Yuno’s parents.

But Yuno had renounced them. He’d said that they weren’t his family, that he’d never seen the Celestial City as his home, and had chosen to stay. The only thing that had made him reconsider was when they’d tortured Lang; Yuno was willing to give up everything to save him.

To spare him some pain.

That person, the same person who’d talk down a cop instead of shooting them, who’d taken him to see the stars because he’d seemed stressed out, didn’t deserve this. Yuno didn’t deserve to bleed, to cry for the simple crime of existing; it wasn’t fair.

Then again, when were angels ever fair?

“Our son, our beautiful son—” Yuno’s mother’s voice was harsh, grating, on Lang’s ears. He would be happy if he never heard it again, would be happy if she and her husband died in a hole somewhere. He realized that she was crying. “What have you done to your glorious wings?”

Yuno’s mouth was pressed into a firm line.

He said nothing.

“I can’t believe you’d trade your wings for a demon, for a prince of hell—” she spat it with disdain. “You can’t come home like this, but maybe, maybe if you plead with the council for forgiveness—”

Yuno laughed.

It was achingly familiar to Lang.

“I don’t need your forgiveness,” Yuno said.

“But, sweetie, please,” she said. “Don’t be ridiculous; you need to come home.” Even with his choice abundantly clear, even with his wings in tattered ruins around him, his mother didn’t understand. Lang couldn’t believe that there was someone so blind, so idiotic, in existence.

Of course Yuno wasn’t coming home.

He obviously hated it there.

And now he hated her, too.

“I’m already home,” Yuno said, and Lang’s heart fluttered painfully. The certainty in which Yuno said that, like no matter what happened, even if Lang hated him after this, he would always see Los Santos as his home. He would always see Lang as his home.

“Honey, you’re confused, please—” she tried to reach for Yuno, and Yuno flinched. His mother stilled at the action, horror dawning on her face, as if just realizing that she’d lost a son tonight. Yuno’s father’s face was unreadable, and Ray’s was conflicted, uncertain.

She didn’t recognize her brother anymore.

And Lang realized something.

There was only one way Yuno’s family would accept that Yuno was gone for good and that he was never coming home. It was an idea that he’d never thought of, but if Yuno agreed, he’d never leave Lang. They’d grow old together, would stay by each other's side for the remainder of their lives.

It was greater than marriage.

It was something older, something ancient. It was the perfect way to ensure that Yuno would stay and for once, Yuno might just be desperate enough to agree to it. “Yuno Sykk,” Lang said. His voice carried over the mountain, and Yuno glanced down at him. Lang’s breath caught.

Yuno was beautiful.

Fucking gorgeous.

“Yuno, baby,” he said. “Do you trust me?”

There was no reason for the answer to be yes. Lang was a demon, a motherfucking prince of hell. Even his own parents hadn’t trusted him, hadn’t loved him, so how could he expect Yuno to? How could he expect an angel, born and raised in the Celestial City, to trust him?

But Yuno only shook his head. “Of course I trust you, Mr. Lang.”

The words warmed his heart. It made the pain, the cuts and bruises lining his body, the blood still drying on his skin, fade into the background. All that mattered was Yuno. “Then Yuno Sykk, child of the heavens, I, Lang Buddha, a prince of Hell, hereby invite you into a demon’s contract.”

It was the perfect solution.

The one thing that could fix everything.

Cries of protest and outrage ensued from Yuno’s parents. They weren’t blind, weren’t ignorant any longer, and for once, they saw Lang as a threat. He was no longer a bug under their feet, an insect to be crushed under their heel, but rather someone who could take their son from them.

A demon’s contract.

It was a binding covenant that couldn’t be broken and went beyond simple appearances. Once a demon’s contract was made, it tied two individuals together forever. They became one in the eyes of the Lord and so, if either was hurt, the other one would be as well.

If Yuno died, so would Lang.

Most demons feared such a thing—they feared being tied to someone else, feared what death would bring. Demon contracts were rare because of it, and in all his years of life, in every book he’d ever read, he’d never heard of a demon’s contract between an angel and a demon.

Such a thing was unheard of.

“I accept,” Yuno said, and the second he spoke those words into existence, the second they hit the air, the world shifted off its axis. It tilted into something new, a place that Lang hadn’t known existed, and his body felt alive, tingling all over the place. A delightful fire seared him.

He half-gasped, half-laughed.

It was like nothing he’d ever experienced before.

His senses were heightened, his awareness expanded tenfold. He could’ve sworn that he could feel every inch of Yuno’s body without ever touching him, from his split ends to his fingertips. He’d never been this connected, never been this attached to another living being before.

It was terrifying.

But at the same time, it was everything.

“Mr. Lang—” Lang’s gaze fell to Yuno’s face, to his lips. They looked so delectable, so delicious, and Lang wanted nothing more than to give in to his baser urges. He wanted to press their lips together, to kiss in an ocean of their blood, gold and black, angels and demons, becoming one.

And someday, he would do it.

Someday Lang would kiss Yuno without shame. He’d admit that he cared about Yuno, that he cared about him more than a friend ever should, and when that day came, it would be glorious. It would be heaven’s reckoning and hell come knocking, and it would be them.

It would be them and that was enough.

More than enough for Lang.

“You’re a filthy traitor, worse than a demon, the lowest of lows.” Yuno’s mother’s upper lip curled back and her anger was suffocatingly brutal, but it was her disgust that must’ve hurt. It was the fact that she saw her own son as something shameful, someone unworthy of love or affection.

In truth, she was the shameful one.

It was her who was unworthy.

“Leave,” Yuno said. “You have no place here.” His voice was steady and unflinching and Lang was proud of him. He was proud of how far Yuno had come. Yuno was learning a lesson that Lang himself had learned long ago, one that seemed inevitable when you lived in Los Santos.

Or apparently, the Celestial City.

It was pointless to try, exhausting to try, to please people who would never be satisfied. No matter what you changed about yourself or how you contorted and warped yourself to make them happy, it would never work for the simple fact you weren’t the problem; they were the problem.

They were the ones who were broken.

Who didn’t know how to love.

For the longest time, love had been a foreign concept to Lang. He’d never experienced it as a child, had never known a mother’s loving touch or a father’s gentle laugh. His childhood had been largely alone, sustained only by wits and sheer luck, but maybe, that could change.

He could learn to love again.

With Yuno anything was possible.

“Fine,” Yuno’s mother snapped. “We’ll leave but only because leaving you here, letting you live, is worse than any punishment I could ever give you. In time, you will realize that we were right, that demons are self-serving creatures who only love themselves, but by then, it’ll be too late.”

Maybe she was right.

Maybe demon’s could only love themselves but now, Yuno was a part of Lang. They were irrevocably tied to each other, whether they liked it or not, and Lang’s plan had worked. Yuno’s parents had realized that their son was gone, and all it had taken was tying himself to a demon.

Doing the one thing he could never take back.

“I won’t regret it,” Yuno said.

His father shook his head. “I’m disappointed in you, son.”

He’s not your son.

Lang wanted to tell him that, wanted to scream it at him, but there was no point. Yuno’s parents would never change their minds and would never see Yuno as anything but a disappointment. They didn’t see what Lang did; they didn’t see his brilliant mind, his beautiful smile, or his heart made of gold.

Yuno was truly the best of them.

And not because he was an angel.

It was because of who he was, the person that he’d become, in spite of his parents, in spite of their hateful beliefs and bitter words, that made him better. No one else came close to him and if Lang could spend the rest of his life with Yuno at his side, he’d be the luckiest demon alive.

“Yuno—” Ray said, her voice desperate. “Please, don’t do this.” Her eyes were wide and pleading and she truly cared about her brother, unlike their parents. She’d made so many mistakes, had irrevocably hurt him and had likely been the one to tell Yuno’s parents about Lang.

She was the reason Lang was tortured.

The reason this was all happening.

But despite that, Lang couldn’t hate her. He couldn’t hate someone who’d look at Yuno like that, like he was her world, like she didn’t know how to function without him in her life. It’d likely broken her, had torn her apart, when Yuno had left the Celestial City—yet it had to be done.

Yuno was allowed to be selfish.

He was allowed to do what was best for himself and his sister, in time, might even realize that he was right to leave, that staying by their parents in that cage was never going to help him. It was only going to hurt him, day after day and Yuno didn’t deserve that; he deserved the world.

Not a cage that called itself heaven.

“I’m sorry, Ray.” Yuno didn’t tell her he’d come back, didn’t lie to her. He apologized because despite knowing it wasn’t his fault, despite knowing he was doing the right thing, Yuno was still sorry. He wasn’t sorry for leaving, but he was sorry that it hurt her—Lang could see it on Yuno’s face.

The pain and the guilt and the regret.

But also the determination. Nothing would dissuade Yuno from his choice. Nothing would drag him back to that cage—not even his sister. “I love you, Ray,” he said. “But I won’t sacrifice myself for you, and if you love me, if you care about me even a little bit, you’ll let me leave.”

It looked like Ray’s world was crumbling.

Her face was pale, her breaths staggered, and Lang thought she would argue. He thought she’d insist until her dying breath, doing everything in her power to drag her brother home; instead, she nodded, tears slipping down her face. “I’m sorry too, Yuno.”

When their parents made to leave, she left with them.

No other words were spoken.

The three angels rose into the air, their powerful wings stirring up the snow. It blinded Lang and Yuno, whipping against their cheeks. Yuno’s fallen feathers, charred and blackened, breezed by. They were quick, taunting, and Lang realized that his own wings were still tied.

As soon as he thought it, the metal vanished.

Vanished like it was never there at all.

He flexed his wings, testing them out. They were sore and aching but in one-piece, which was more than Lang could say for Yuno; in fact, Yuno wasn’t looking too good. His face was pale and he swayed from side to side, looking like a ghost or some other-worldly being brought back to life.

A wave of concern hit Lang.

Yuno had been through a lot. Angels, in general, were durable beings. It took a lot to kill one but the combination of being nearly burned alive and the mental torment and exhaustion of seeing his parents, of having to deal with their bullshit, it’d taken its toll.

The blood surrounding them was proof.

It was their pain, their hurt, given a physical form, and he barely noticed when Yuno’s family was gone for good. He barely noticed because Yuno lilted to one side, his head rolling back, and Lang scrambled to catch him. He pulled his hacker against his chest, cupping his face.

“Yuno, baby, are you okay?”

He mumbled something in response.

Something Lang couldn’t hear.

Sooner or later, Yuno needed medical attention. None of this was a good sign but the problem with that, the problem with getting help was that then everyone would know. Everyone would know that Yuno was an angel and once they did, nothing would be the same again.

It wasn’t safe for an angel in Los Santos.

He’d be hunted and although Lang could protect him, he’d rather not take that chance. He’d rather tuck Yuno somewhere safe, a place where this world and its cruelty couldn’t touch him, but that wasn’t possible. It wasn’t possible for someone like Yuno who loved every bit of life.

Who needed others to survive.

If Lang did that, if Lang tucked him away, he’d be no better than Yuno’s parents. He’d be no better than the people that Yuno had every right to hate—but probably didn’t. It wasn’t in Yuno’s nature to hate, even when it came to people who’d hurt him.

People who’d nearly broken him.

And someday, Lang hoped he could be like Yuno. He hoped that his heart would be filled with love, not hate or resentment or the bitterness that filled most as the years dragged on. He wanted to live and laugh like each day was his last, and remember that this life was a gift.

It was something precious.

Without life, there was no Yuno. There was no laughing at random things, no smiles that made his heart feel warm and fuzzy, no stargazing at midnight. Lang couldn’t imagine life like that. He couldn’t imagine what his life was like before Yuno was in it.

And maybe, just maybe, that’s what love was.

Chapter Text

Yuno couldn’t believe it.

He couldn't believe that he was free.

All his life, his parents had controlled him. They’d decided how he should act, who he should be, and now that they were gone, the world had opened to him. He no longer had to constantly look over his shoulder, worried that at any moment, they would find him.

It was everything he could’ve hoped for.

And it was all because of Mr. Lang.

Mr. Lang was the one who’d offered him the demon contract. He was the one who’d made this possible, who’d made Yuno’s parents realize that Yuno was beyond saving. He was beyond hope of redemption, and that was okay, that was perfect, because Yuno didn’t need redemption.

He didn't need saving either.

For the first time in his life, he was safe.

He was needed.

He was wanted.

And maybe, just maybe, he was loved.

***

Weeks later, and the only people who knew what happened that night, the only people who knew what had caused the shift between Lang and Yuno was Lang and Yuno themselves. No one else knew why the two seemed closer than before, or what had happened to their house.

All they knew was that it was gone.

Burned to the ground in the middle of the night.

The press called it a freak accident, and Lang and Yuno were more than happy to run with that story. It was far more believable than the truth, than telling everyone that it was angels who’d burned the house, and that those same angels were Yuno’s parents, that he was an angel himself.

No one knew but Lang.

And Yuno was determined to keep it that way. He knew that if it ever came out, that if his secret was revealed, it wouldn’t kill him, not like it once might’ve. Ever since he’d agreed to the demon contract, people treated him differently. He was no longer Yuno Sykk, the prodigy hacker.

He was Yuno Sykk, and Lang’s number one.

No one could touch him and anyone who tried would face the wrath of a demon prince, which was no small thing. Yuno had absolute faith that if his secret was revealed, Mr. Lang would protect him. He wouldn’t let anyone hurt Yuno, wouldn’t let Yuno be killed because of the blood running in his veins.

And if Tony noticed anything, he didn’t mention it.

That night had changed more than Lang and Yuno; it had changed Tony too. He no longer was so quick to ask questions. He was just happy that both Lang and Yuno had made it back alive. It was surprising how easily he’d accepted their explanation that it was some rival gang.

One who’d wanted to fuck with the Cleanbois.

Nothing serious, and at first, Tony hadn’t wanted to believe it. He’d needed to know that they were safe, that the problem was solved, which Lang reassured him that it was.

Yuno’s parents wouldn’t be bothering them again.

He was certain of it.

If they bothered them again, if they came back to Los Santos, it would mean admitting that they were wrong, that being stuck here wasn’t a punishment after all, and his parents were prideful bastards. They’d never willingly admit they were wrong; they’d rather die than hurt their pride.

“You ready for this?” Lang asked.

Yuno laughed. “I’m more than ready, Mr. Lang.”

They’d been planning this attempt for weeks. It’d been their entire lives for the past couple days and Yuno was just glad to have an excuse to spend time with Mr. Lang. He’d be a little sad once it was over. He didn’t know what came after the vault, didn’t know what was next for them.

But whatever it was, they’d figure it out together.

Neither of them had quite addressed the thing that lingered between them, the electricity that crackled whenever they accidentally touched, or the fact that those accidental touches were becoming increasingly common. It was becoming almost ridiculous how many reasons they found to brush past each other, to invade each other’s personal space, or hell, even just touch hands.

A simple fleeting gesture that left Yuno feeling alive.

He didn’t know if it was the demon’s contract, or if these little electric shocks had always been there and he’d just never noticed before. Either way, Yuno found it fascinating. He found that he never wanted to be away from Lang, that when he was around him, time seemed to slow down.

Each and every moment a work of art.

Something Yuno would cherish for years to come.

“Hey,” Lang said, and Yuno blinked, tearing himself from his thoughts. “Know that whatever happens, succeed or fail, you’re my hacker, baby. Nothing will ever change that.”

Yuno’s heart warmed. “Thanks, Mr. Lang.”

He wouldn’t fail.

But he appreciated the sentiment.

It was nice to know that he was loved, that he was wanted, no matter what happened. Lang’s love for him, and yes, that’s what it was, even if neither of them could admit it outloud, wasn’t conditional. It was absolute and if a rumor started to spread about an angel who’d given up their wings for a demon prince, who’d traded divinity for love, Yuno wasn’t worried.

He had nothing to fear.

And he didn’t regret it.

He’d trade his wings for Mr. Lang a thousand times over, would burn every feather, every bone in his body to dust and ashes if it would give him one more moment, one more second, with Mr. Lang.

Angels and demons, heaven and hell, life and death.

None of it mattered when it came to love.