Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The fact of the matter was that if an orphaned impling didn’t wanna die in Hell, they had to get very good at certain things and learn all the rules.

Rules like: avoid anyone with power in this shithole. 

It was a good rule, reasonable even. Anyone who had power here had to get it by killing someone else. Someone strong. So if an impling wanted to avoid dying, avoiding people who had proven willing to kill and had the power to do it, was a must. 

But Jason had had a bad month. He was scraping the bottom of the barrel in strength and cash. He was desperate and hungry, and he was dreading the fact that he’d have to feed at the torture fields, again, if he couldn’t figure something out. 

Hell, he hated feeding there. It was all pain, fear, and anguish, the damned souls being tortured day in and out tasted like rot and ash. Even starving, he could barely make himself eat it.

All of this to say, Jason knew this car belonged to someone important. How could he not? It was sleek and shiny, very obviously new and well-cared for. The tires were even CUSTOM, with some demon seal printed on the sides that Jason didn’t recognize.

The smart thing to do would be to run. If whoever owned this car came back while he was working…Jason would die. He’d be killed, probably without being able to fight back at all. 

But even paying demons to feed him was better than the torture fields, bland as it was, so Jason pulled out his tire iron and he got to work. 

He had to work quickly to get the tires off and stash them away without getting caught. Jason could feel his own fear tainting the air around him, urging him to work faster, faster, and faster.

One tire off. No sign of anyone.

Two tires off. Jason was still alone.

Three tires off. Was he seriously about to get away with this? 

He was in the middle of the fourth tire when he felt a shadow fall over him. 

Jason froze, a bolt falling from his fingers. He opened his mouth, tasting the air, but his own fear was too loud, too big, he couldn’t taste anything but that. 

“Do you know whose car this is?” The voice that rumbled above him was deep and masculine. It sounded amused. 

“No.” Jason admitted as he slowly rose to his feet. He stared at the shadow in front of him. It was huge, over twice Jason’s own size.

He could see the wide arch of wings, like bats, tucked away. 

He could see the silhouette of horns.

A large tail was twitching to his right. It wasn’t a tail like Jason’s own; his tail was whip-thin and flexible. This one was more…lizard-like and thick. 

Wings. Horns. Lizard tail. Oh fuck, he was dead. He was dead. This was clearly a Dragonus Demon, and everyone knew that Dragoni hated it when people touched their stuff. 

The Demon had been talking while Jason was freaking out. “-put my tires back now, young man.” 

Jason clenched his tire iron tightly. He had one chance, one chance to cut and run without dying. He whirled around, driving the iron directly into the demon's stomach. 

“Oof!” He stumbled backwards, just a step, and Jason didn’t waste a damn second. 

He ran, didn’t even stop to think about where he was going, he just ran. His breath came faster, arms pumping at his sides, if he could just make it to the road, he could hide away in the crowd-!

The back of Jason’s hoodie was grabbed, he gasped as he felt himself yanked into the air, feet dangling, kicking without hitting anything. He clenched his eyes shut, not wanting to watch as he was dragged higher and higher into the air, not wanting to watch when he started to fall down, down, down-

Except he wasn’t being dragged higher. He was held up in the air by the scruff of his neck, but the Dragonus hadn’t opened his wings to fly. Cautiously, he opened his eyes, bewilderment parting the fear. 

“I don’t make it a habit to kill implings.” The Demon said. “I promise, you’re safe.” 

“Yeah-right.” Jason choked out. “ ‘N’ I’m a prince in disguise.” 

The Demon laughed. 

He LAUGHED. 

Jason’s eyes widened because- what with the direct contact and all, he could feel the Demon’s emotions now, could taste it on his tongue even if he couldn’t eat. 

Amusement. Intrigue. Concern. Happiness. 

Jason couldn’t help it, he whimpered. To have such good-tasting emotions like this right in front of him and he couldn’t have a drop? It was torture. He was so hungry, hadn’t eaten anything approaching happiness in SO long. His mouth was watering, he wanted it so bad. 

The Demon cocked his head to the side. “Who has been feeding you?” He asked. 

Now it was Jason’s turn to laugh, bitterness rising to the surface. “Whoever I can pay enough to do it.” He snarled.

The Demon frowned, his emotions shifted, the concern growing larger. 

Concern? Was this-concern for HIM? What? That didn’t make sense. He had to be worrying about his car, right? Right.

“Where is your pack? Why aren’t they feeding you?” The Demon asked. 

Jason winced as he remembered his mama’s death. “Gone.” He said flatly. 

Grief. Regret. Worry. 

What the hell was with this Demon? Where did he get off, acting like he cared? Jason didn’t even know his name! 

The Demon set Jason down on his feet, but didn’t let go. “Are you hungry?” He asked directly. 

Jason bit back a whine, because of course he was! That was the entire problem! Was this guy an idiot? Or maybe he was just trying to torture Jason by asking him obvious questions? Was this all some game before he killed Jason? 

Except…that didn’t make sense. He couldn’t taste even a hint of malice, or even anger despite what Jason had done. It didn’t…none of this made sense. 

Was he actually safe? Had the Demon been telling the truth when he said he wouldn’t hurt Jason? 

“I’m starvin’.” Jason bit out.

The Demon looked at him for several long moments. Worry. Sadness. Then… resolve ? Jason’s tail twitched with agitation as he wondered what exactly the Demon had decided to do. 

“What’s your name?” The Demon asked. 

“Jason.” He swallowed dryly. 

The Dragonus kneeled and offered his hand. “You can feed.” He said. 

Jason jerked back, half-surprised that the Demon would even offer, and more than half-convinced it wasn’t real. “What? What kinda trick is this?” He demanded.

“No trick.” The Demon said. 

“That doesn’t- why would you do that? I stole your tires!”

“Yes.” 

“I hit you ‘n’ tried to run!” 

“Yes.” 

“You don’t get nothin’ for feedin’ me!” 

“You’re an impling. You SHOULD be fed.”

Jason couldn’t think of a response to that, all that came out was sputtering noises. Hell no, he thought, no way am I falling for this tr-

The Dragonus grasped Jason’s hand, he could taste a mix of resolve, concern , and care through it, and he couldn’t help himself. His magic reached out, and suddenly he was eating. 

He was EATING, the Demon really was just letting Jason take without even suggesting he needed to pay for it. 

He’ll make you pay later, Jason tried to warn himself, but it was a small part that whispered. The rest of him was just too damn hungry and he was devouring a feast of emotions he hadn’t had in years.

Resolve tasted nutty in his mouth, something hard to crack through but rewarding once you do. A walnut perhaps? 

Concern on the other hand, was much softer. It tasted like a kiwi, something sharp and a little bit sour and sweet too, but so soft in his mouth. 

Best of all though was the care. Now care… care tasted like the sweetest of candies. It tasted like hot chocolate on a winter’s day, like something warm and wonderful that just reminded you that you were safe now. 

It filled his stomach, and despite his concerns, the Dragonus didn’t even TRY to cut the flow of emotions off, though it would have been easy to. It’s not like Jason could have stopped him.

Jason’s knees wobbled, he collapsed forward, barely noticing how the Dragonus caught him. He was purring now, a rusty, rumbling thing he hadn’t heard since before his mama died. 

He’d started to think he’d never feel so happy and full again, but here he was. Still eating, still being allowed to eat. It was a heady thing, it clouded his mind, told him he was-was safe. That he could relax now.

It made no sense. Jason didn’t get lucky like this. But…but even now, he still couldn’t sense any malice or anger, nothing buried deep beneath these emotions. As if the man was genuinely worried about an impling trying to survive on its own. As if! 

And yet…and yet, he couldn’t stop the thought that maybe…just maybe…

Somehow, Jason had been lucky enough to try and steal from the only person in all of Hell who didn’t care about it. The only person who decided not to take it out of his hide. It’s too bad this won’t last. His thoughts whispered. 

His mind felt foggy, the adrenaline crash dragging at his eyelids, telling him to sleep now. He tried to fight it-just because the Demon wasn’t going to hurt him didn’t mean Jason could just FALL ASLEEP on him for crying out loud-but he just didn’t have the strength. Between his first full belly in over a month, the feeling of contentment that came from eating something good, and the dawning realization that he might actually be safe here… he didn’t have the willpower to fight. 

Jason’s eyes slammed close and didn’t open for some time. 

Chapter Text

Jason’s sleep was dreamless and uninterrupted, something that had never happened in his entire time living on the streets. What really clinched that something was different however, was the sensations around himself. 

He was lying on the softest thing he’d ever felt, rivaled only by the even softer thing wrapped around his shoulders. He opened his eyes in a panic and found himself in a luxurious and gorgeous room. The kind of rich that Jason couldn’t be even if he lived for multiple lives. 

Jason flung himself off the bed, panic rising in his throat. His feet were tangled in the sheets, he needed to GO, fuck, he was in so much trouble. How could he have fallen asleep like that?! Fucking hell, he was an idiot!

When he finally managed to tear the sheets off, he darted to the closest door, yanking it open. In an easier life, the hallway he found would have been full of windows placed at a normal height that Jason could’ve jumped through and ran, but in this one, he found himself in a huge hallway with doors on both sides and windows far too high to jump through. 

He whined with distress, unsure where to go, how to run, but he couldn’t stay there forever. If he wanted to escape, he needed to find the way out. So he closed the door behind him and started to rush through the hall. 

There were a lot of doors to look at, doors that could lead anywhere, so Jason started to randomly check them, opening and closing doors based on what he saw. 

A bedroom. Supply closet. Another bedroom, and another, and another. Bathroom. Bedroom- why were there so many bedrooms? All of them were dark, quiet, and barren of personality. Guest rooms without guests.

Why had Jason woken up in one of these and not a cell? Why wasn’t he being guarded if he was a prisoner?

Jason made it all the way to the end of the hallway, but had still yet to find a door out of there, which meant he’d gone in the wrong direction. Or missed the right door. Either way, he turned and went back the way he came, opening more doors, stepping inside to get a good look at them- until he stepped into what was decidedly, the wrong one. 

The room he was in now was definitely not a guest room, it looked nothing like the rooms he’d seen before. For one, this room was lit up from a bright light that shined from the ceiling. When Jason squinted upwards, he saw the ceiling had been painted to look like the sky, and magic of some sort made it look as if clouds were moving over the ceiling. He’d only seen a blue sky once before, the one time his mama got to take him to Earth. 

He should have turned around right then and there, walked away, but the sight of the sky was just too fascinating. Jason took another couple steps inside instead.

He dragged his eyes downward, looking at the nets hanging around the room, the hammock strung between two trees. Between the bars and the nets, it looked like an entire aerial obstacle course had been created, and he could see blankets arranged on certain platforms almost like a nest.

Then, further down, he saw the mess. Clothes and black feathers littered the floor.

Jason reached out and picked one up, twisting it between his fingers. It was downy soft, but left a black smear on his fingers, almost like ink. 

What kind of demon had inky black feathers? He could think of several with feathers, even black, but the ink was strange. He couldn’t think of any feathered demons that had an inky undercoat and feathered demons were fastidious about keeping their feathers clean. There was no way they’d tolerate this stuff if it wasn’t supposed to be there.

Jason would know, he’d briefly been fostered by some Vepars, and the first thing they did was teach him how to preen feathers. Even though Vepars didn’t have feathers, it was important in flight culture apparently. 

Amusement, curiosity, mischief. Jason froze as he registered the new emotions drifting through the air. 

“What are you doing in my room?” Someone drawled.

Jason whirled around to face the- well, not intruder because that was clearly Jason- stranger. 

Black feathered wings. Black-tipped claws with black veins trailing through the hands, disappearing into the arms. A stocky set of horns.

This had to be a Fallen Angel. Jason had never seen any before, but he knew the black feathers and veins were the hallmarks of one, knew how many of them were adopted into noble families, and this place definitely belonged to a noble.

“I was-was lookin’ for the bathroom.” Jason blurted out. “Sorry, wrong place, I’ll just go now.” 

“What’s the rush?” The Fallen shrugged, stepping into his room. Jason stepped back. The Fallen grinned. “Let me show you around!”

“That’s-that’s alright, I really need to get goin’-” Jason took another step back, his eyes darting around the room, trying to find some way, ANYway, to get out- but the only way out was past the Fallen.

The Fallen huffed and rolled his eyes. “Relax kid, I’m not going to eat you.” He chuckled.

Jason was silent. He didn’t find the prospect nearly so funny. 

The Fallen stared at Jason, his amusement and curiosity fading fast in the awkward silence. Jason didn’t dare speak, only bracing himself for when the Fallen inevitably attacked. He was an intruder, a thief, there was no way he’d just be allowed to get away with that.

“I’m Dick by the way.” 

Jason stared and wondered if he was suddenly hallucinating. “What?”

“My name. It’s Dick. B brought you home, right? Gave you a room in this hall?”

“B? That the name of the Dragonus?” Jason asked.

Dick stared for half a minute before he collapsed into laughter. “I can’t-he didn’t-oh this is too good-” He flopped to the ground, practically howling with hysterical laughter as amusement and joy filled the air. 

Jason’s stomach rumbled, his mouth watered, how long had it been since the Dragonus fed him? Because he was hungry again, and the smell of joy was luring him forward like a kid to a candy store.

“I am never letting him live this down!” Dick crowed, joy only growing as he spasmed. 

Jason could hardly hear him as blood roared through his ears, his senses locked onto the feast in front of him. He’d never tried to feed off a Fallen before, but would they have the same defenses other demons had? The same ability to stop Jason from eating without permission?

Mama said they could eat an Angel’s emotions without needing that permission. Was a Fallen the same way?

…He could try just one bite right? Just to see if he could? 

Slowly, Jason knelt and reached out with his hand, fingers just touching the edge of Dick’s feathers. 

Instantly, Dick was gone, wing sweeping out of Jason’s reach, his amusement and joy disappearing like it never existed, replaced by a hard anger that tasted like ozone and burning. “Don’t touch my wings.” He growled, lightning crackling through his hair.

Jason felt his eyes widen as he backpedaled, trying to get away as fast as possible. “I’m-I’m sorry.” He gasped. “I didn’t-I mean-Sorry-sorry-” This is it, this is when he kills me, Jason thought, his muscles tensing, eyes closing as he braced himself to be torn apart.

Instead, the anger disappeared from the air. A clawed hand rested on Jason’s head, carefully ruffling his hair. He heard a low chirp.

Pity. Regret. Sad. 

“It’s okay kid, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” Dick said softly. “I just really don’t like it when strangers touch my wings alright? I only let pack touch them.”

Right. And Jason wasn’t pack, just a random impling who was in his home and room for no reason. “I’m sorry.” He mumbled. 

Dick cooed before he suddenly swept Jason into his arms, into a fucking princess carry of all things, prompting the impling to yelp with shock. Jason stared at the Fallen, open-jawed as mischief returned to the air. 

What was with this guy? His emotions flickered so quickly, Jason couldn’t get a read on him. He didn’t trust it, it was too damn mercurial. 

This was the type of guy who seemed friendly until suddenly his teeth were in your throat.

“Where are you taking me?” Jason growled, baring his teeth.

The fucking Fallen cooed AGAIN, condescending bast-no, condescending DICK. “I’m taking you to B.” He said with a blinding grin.

Jason’s tail twitched with his fear. “Why?” He asked, demanded really.

But Dick only hummed. “Why indeed.” He flounced through the halls, opening a door at the other end of the hall, the end he hadn’t gotten to yet.

Well, Jason was no idiot. He was an incubus who’d been kidnapped by a noble after trying to steal their tires. There was no fucking way this ended well for him, even if the noble had seemed okay with it at the time. 

It had all probably been a trick to lure Jason into a false sense of security anyways.

Jason lashed out, elbow landing on Dick’s chin, claws tearing through his shirt, but the Fallen didn’t even react! He was all amused and something that tasted distinctly gooey! It grossed him out!

Jason panicked. He kicked and squirmed, fought desperately to be released, but the Fallen wouldn’t budge!

“So fierce!” The Fallen cooed, utterly unintimidated. 

“Jus’ let me go!” Jason shouted, fear finally breaking through his veneer of composure. “Please, I won’t do it again, I didn’t know!” He begged.

The Fallen slowed, tilting his head. Jason tasted curiosity and concern. What was with these weird nobles and their ‘concern?’ “I’m not going to hurt you. You’re just an impling.” He said.

“Since when has that mattered?!” Jason growled.

Dick’s face darkened, anger like steel rising through the air. “It should always have mattered.” 

Sincerity tasted like watermelon. Jason…didn’t know how to take that. He hadn’t tasted sincerity like this since…since…

“I love you baby. My baby.”

A soft hand running through his hair. 

Rumbling purrs late at night. 

“You’re safe. It’s okay baby.”

Jason shivered, dimly realizing that he was crying all of a sudden. He-no, this wasn’t the time for that, he- he needed-

Jason felt himself tucked under a chin, wings protectively curling around him. “Oh kid…you’ve had a rough go of it, haven’t you?” Dick murmured, sadness sweeping in, the taste of rain mingling with watermelon. It tasted like summer picnics and misty rain.

“Go ‘way.” Jason mumbled, hating how he relaxed anyways, hating how soft he was getting, as if this Fallen hadn’t been tripping red flags for over an hour now. Just because he’d said-just because-because-

“No. I don’t think I will. In fact, I think I know exactly why B brought you home.” Dick said. Certainty. Resolve. That same nutty taste he’d found when the Dragonus had decided to feed him. 

He had to know, he needed to understand. “Why?” 

“Because you deserve one.” 

“Deserve what?” Jason whined, hating the lack of a clear answer. 

“Home.” Dick opened a door and the warm scent of cooking food spilled over Jason. Sure it wasn’t food-food, not for someone like Jason, but laced throughout the smell of cooking meat lay a feeling that Jason hadn’t tasted in years. It made him go boneless from the scent alone, fingers twitching as he tried to reach out for the source of it.

Love . 

“Ah, Master Dick. I see you have found Master Jason. Do set him down there, won’t you? He appears to be quite tired. Dinner shall be ready presently if you’d like to inform your father.” A new voice, the source of this emotion, said. 

“Sure thing Alf.” Jason felt himself lowered into a chair-when had his eyes closed?-and a hand ruffled through his hair. “See you around Jaybird.”

Jason might have muttered a protest, but it faded away before it could touch the air. 

Another clawed hand came to rest over his own, the scent of love only growing stronger with proximity. “Here Master Jason, eat just a little before you sleep. I’ll not have any impling’s going to bed hungry in my house.” 

Jason couldn’t even imagine trying to refuse. He ate.

And although he didn't know it at the time, he would never go hungry again.