Archive of Our Own

Looking back, Aki couldn’t help but marvel at all the ways it could have gone differently. 

Maybe if he’d signed up for a different class. If he’d chosen a different major, or an entirely different school altogether. If he’d gotten to the classroom just a couple minutes earlier, or maybe a couple minutes later. If he’d sat somewhere else. A thousand tiny decisions led him right to that moment, sitting in a squeaky, uncomfortable chair on the first day of the fall semester of his third year of college, listening as his experimental modern physics professor went over the syllabus. 

“This is a project-based class,” the woman explained. “You’ll spend the entire semester working on one overarching project and then present it in lieu of a final. It will be forty percent of your grade, and you’ll be doing this work in pairs.”

Aki groaned internally. He hated group projects. He never would have considered himself some kind of control freak, but he did like control. Group projects always seemed like a good way to get fucked over by some useless, stupid partner and end up doing badly in a class he had no reason to do badly in. 

“Go ahead and pair up with someone near you,” she instructed. 

Aki looked to his left. The girl there already had her head leaned close to the boy on her other side, chairs angled together. He looked to his right. The boy on that side had his chair turned around to face the person at the table behind them. 

Great. 

“Hey, do you have a partner yet?” a soft voice said from behind Aki. 

He spun around and came face-to-face with the boy sitting behind him. He was small, with delicate features and long red hair that hung far past his shoulders. Aki had never seen a boy with such long hair. His eyes were big, lips slightly parted as he peered at Aki with a look of mild disinterest. 

Aki shook his head. 

“Do you want to be mine?”

And right then came the absolute worst of all of Aki’s mistakes. The moment he went back and rewrote the most.

“Sure,” Aki said. 

***

At the end of the class period, the boy scribbled something on a post-it and slid it to Aki. 

“Here’s my number,” he said. “Text me when you want to get started.”

Aki shoved the note into his pocket and promptly forgot about it for the rest of the day. It wasn’t until he was removing his pants that evening that he found the crumpled piece of paper. Small, tight handwriting wrote out ten numbers, and then below, five letters: Angel. 

Angel. It suited him. 

***

Aki didn’t text Angel until the weekend. 

Aki: Hey, this is Aki.

It took Angel over an hour to text back.

Angel: who

Aki: From physics class. We’re partners. For the project. 

Angel: oh yah

Aki: Are you free either later today or tomorrow? I thought we could meet up to start picking a research topic.

It took another hour for Aki to get a response. 

Angel: i could do tmrw 

Aki: Great. Want to meet at nine?

Angel: in the morning??????????

Aki: Yes, in the morning

Angel: could we do like noon

Frustration rose in Aki’s chest. Angel’s failure to reply promptly to messages and desire to push their meeting off until later in the day did not bode well for him and Aki being compatible partners. Not to mention his lack of capitalization and punctuation. Was it that hard to use a damn period? Really?

Aki: Fine. Do you want to meet at the library?

Angel: u can just come to my apt

Aki considered protesting that the library would be better, but eventually decided it wasn’t worth it, sending along a lone thumbs up emoji (the only emoji he ever used) in agreement. Angel passed off the address, Aki sent another thumbs up, and then that was it. The chat went dead from both of them. 

***

When Aki got to Angel’s apartment the next day, Angel was still in his pajamas. He looked like he just woke up.

“It’s noon,” Aki said with disbelief. 

Angel shrugged, leading him inside. “I had a late night.” 

The two of them sat on the couch, and Aki pulled out his laptop, notebook, and textbook. Angel leaned back against the pillows and did nothing. 

Aki turned to him. “Are you ready to get started?”

“Mhm,” Angel hummed, but didn’t move. 

Aki stayed staring at him for several seconds more, but Angel just stayed reclining on the couch, picking at his fingernails. Finally, Aki turned back to his own things. 

“So I’ve been skimming through the textbook,” he said, “and I’ve flagged a couple of chapters that I think might be good to focus on.”

“Mhm.”

“Have you thought about it at all?”

“No.”

“Would you like to look through the chapters I noted and we can see which one you prefer?”

“No reason.” Angel waved him off. “You can pick. I don’t care.”

Aki turned to look at him again, and this time it was distinctly a glare. 

“I need you to read through the chapters and help me choose,” he said firmly.

Angel sighed and stuck out a hand. “Fine.”

Aki passed over the textbook. He didn’t remark on the fact that Angel didn’t seem to have his own. Angel flipped right to one of the chapters that Aki had tabbed and started reading, so Aki picked up his notebook and started going through his notes from the last week of class. 

Only a few minutes passed before Angel let out another sigh. 

Aki turned to him. “What?”

“This is boring,” Angel said. 

Aki raised an eyebrow at him. “I actually thought that was one of the more interesting chapters.”

“Well, it’s not.” Angel placed the book down in his lap. “It’s boring.”

“Alright. Then you could try the next one I have flagged.”

“Fine.”

A few more minutes passed in silence before Angel sighed again. 

“What is it this time?” Aki asked, this time feeling a bit exasperated. He had a feeling he knew exactly what Angel was about to say. 

He was right. 

“This one is boring too,” Angel complained. 

Aki restrained a groan. “I don’t know what to tell you. It’s a physics textbook. It’s not going to be that interesting.”

For the five millionth time, Angel sighed. Then he tossed the textbook onto the coffee table. 

“This is boring. I don’t want to do it anymore.” 

“Well, we have to do it. We have to pick a topic.”

“Let’s do it later.”

“Angel—”

“Let’s have sex instead.”

Aki was stunned speechless. 

“What?” he finally managed to get out, turning to look at Angel again. Nothing in Angel’s expression gave the impression that he’d just propositioned Aki. He looked just as disinterested as he’d been when reading that textbook. 

“We should have sex,” Angel said simply. 

“Why?” Aki sputtered.

Angel shrugged. “You’re hot. And it would be more interesting than doing this.”

Aki just continued staring at him. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He couldn’t believe that this odd, apathetic virtual-stranger was proposing sex because Aki was hot and it would be more interesting. Were those really good enough reasons to have sex with someone? Was Angel some kind of weird, freaky sex addict? Was he out of his mind?

“We’re not doing that,” Aki replied. 

Angel shrugged again, but didn’t move to pick back up the textbook. 

“We’re not doing that,” Aki repeated, because for some reason, he felt like he had to. 

“Alright,” Angel said. 

***

“Faster,” Angel gasped out, pulling his knees tighter into his chest. For someone who seemed so completely passive in every other way, he was surprisingly bossy during sex. 

Aki didn’t know what he was doing. 

He’d said they weren’t going to have sex. He’d said it and he’d meant it. But somehow, not even ten minutes later, Angel had been in his lap, grinding back against him and kissing his neck. Not even ten minutes after that they’d been in Angel’s bed, Angel lying back against the pillows while Aki fingered him open. Which brought Aki to now, fucking Angel. Even though he said he wouldn’t. 

Was Angel some kind of siren? Did he have super secret mind control powers? That was the only possible explanation for why Aki was currently buried deep inside of him. He didn’t casually hook up with people. And he definitely didn’t casually hook up with obnoxious, bratty people who he was going to have to see for an entire semester. 

“Faster,” Angel repeated. 

“You’re bossy,” Aki said, but obliged, picking up the speed of his thrusts. 

After they finished, Aki pulled out and went to discard the condom. When he turned back to face the bed, Angel was still lying on his back. His hair was disheveled, spread out on the pillow like a halo. His body was covered in a shiny coating of sweat, lips parted as he sucked in breaths. His eyes were shut, his lashes laying prettily against his pink cheeks. Even though Aki literally just came, he felt his cock twitch and start to fill out again. 

Definitely some kind of siren. 

“What’s your name again?” Angel asked. 

Aki’s cock went soft. 

“Aki,” Aki bit out, starting to pull back on his clothes. “And we have to pick a research topic. I’m leaving the textbook here. You need to read those chapters and choose before next weekend.” 

Finally dressed, Aki stomped to the bedroom door and pulled it open. 

“And we’re not doing this again,” he shot over his shoulder. 

All Angel replied was a disinterested, “Alright.”

***

The next weekend, Aki specifically asked to meet at the library. He figured that was the safest option. If they were in the library, there was no way they could end up having sex. 

In his defense, they made it significantly longer that time. Angel read two full chapters of the textbook and they even settled on a loose project idea. But instead of leaving when they finished like he should have, Aki then found himself pressed against the locked door of the single-stall library bathroom, his cock in Angel’s hand. He had Angel’s in his own hand as they jerked each other off, hard and fast. Angel had his face pressed into the side of Aki’s throat, panting warm breaths against Aki’s skin. He pressed his lips against Aki’s neck before nipping it with his teeth and starting to suck. 

“Don’t leave marks,” Aki said, having to grit the words out through his teeth. He was embarrassingly close to coming already. 

Angel pulled away, peering up at Aki with his big eyes. “You’re bossy.”

***

The third week, Aki proposed meeting at his own apartment. That way, he could be in his own space and entirely in control of the situation. Besides, Aki’s nosy, loud roommates provided a wonderful cockblock. If Aki and Angel stayed in the living room, Power and Denji were likely to walk in at any moment. It was the perfect situation to guarantee a sex-less work period. 

But when Angel arrived, he dropped down next to Aki on the couch, and Aki noticed a small stick hanging out his mouth. 

“Is that a—”

Angel pulled the lollipop from his mouth to show Aki before sticking it back between his lips. 

They set to trying to find relevant papers to their topic, but Aki couldn’t focus. Not when Angel was sitting barely a foot away from him, cheeks hollowed as he sucked on his lollipop. Occasionally, he would pull it out and run his tongue across it. His pretty, pink tongue that was turning red from the sugary food dye. 

Aki couldn’t be blamed for what happened. Not really. 

He leaned his head back, staring up at the white ceiling. Aki was avoiding looking at Angel, whose perfect little mouth was currently wrapped around his cock. He knew that if he caught sight of Angel on his knees, with watery eyes and spit–slick lips, he would come embarrassingly fast. As it was, he was having to grip onto the couch cushions to avoid weaving his fingers through Angel’s long hair. Aki wanted to sweep it up to keep it out of his face. Aki wanted to tug at it. He wanted to see if Angel would like the sting on his scalp. If he would whine around Aki’s cock. If he would—

Angel truly had to be some kind of siren. That was the only possible explanation for this madness. 

Aki was so lost in pleasure that he didn’t even hear the front door open or footsteps trail across the floor. He didn’t notice that his roommates had arrived back home until Denji’s high-pitched screech startled his eyes towards the living room doorway. 

Power laughed. “Go Aki!”

“Get out!” Aki shouted, waving his hand towards the door. 

Power was still laughing as she and Denji fled back into the hallway, and then the sounds of their respective bedroom doors slamming closed echoed throughout the apartment. 

Angel hadn’t slowed down on Aki’s cock once. 

***

The next week, Aki decided to put his foot down. This was ridiculous. He wasn’t looking for a fuck-buddy, or, God forbid, a relationship. And certainly not with Angel, who he still found endlessly frustrating, lazy, and annoying more often than not. He resolved to tell Angel flat-out that he wasn’t interested in sleeping with him again. And sticking to it this time.

They were set to meet at Angel’s apartment, and when Aki arrived, he stood outside the door for a few moments, taking deep breaths as he continued talking sense into himself. 

I’m going to go in there and tell him I don’t want to hook up anymore, he told himself. And then we’re going to work on our project. No more sex. 

Finally, he lifted his arm and knocked on the door. 

“It’s open!” Angel shouted from inside. 

Aki turned the knob and headed inside. At first, when he didn’t spot Angel in the living room, he was confused. Then he walked further into the space and turned to find Angel standing in the hallway to his bedroom. 

Aki froze. 

Angel was wearing lingerie. Fucking lingerie. A lacy, pale pink bralette covered his chest, perfectly matching a skimpy pair of panties on his lower half. There was a garter belt around his waist, connected to sheer thigh-highs with little bows on the tops. 

“Oops,” Angel said. “Guess I forgot to get dressed.”

They didn’t even make it to the bedroom. Aki fucked him right there in the hallway. And that time, Aki didn’t bother telling himself that he wouldn’t do it again. That was clearly a lie.

***

So Angel was his fuck-buddy. Whatever. It didn’t mean anything. It wasn’t even like they were friends-with-benefits, or anything, since that would imply that they were friends, which they were not. They didn’t even sit together in class. No, they just got together once a week to work on their project (pain-stakingly slowly, since they were so often distracted), and have sex. They barely even spoke. It was physical. Purely and exclusively physical. 

And it was good. Really good. Like, significantly better than any sex Aki had ever been having before. So he couldn’t complain, not really. Even if Angel still irked him with his apathetic tendencies and lack of interest in actually doing any work for their project. But he was good at sucking cock and made noises like a porn star. If Aki had to do more than his fair-share of the project work, maybe that was an alright trade off. 

God, he was definitely losing his mind. 

Sometimes, Aki nearly forgot Angel existed outside of their once-a-week sex/project meeting. That he was a real human with his own life and friends. That he ate meals and slept and did things besides bounce on Aki’s cock and sneakily try to give Aki hickies. 

Which is why about a month and a half into the semester, he was stunned silent when Angel plopped down into the chair across from him in the dining hall. 

He didn’t even have a plate of food. Just an ice cream cone. Why was he always eating food that involved an unbearable amount of licking in front of Aki? Unfair.

Aki just stared at him for several seconds. 

Then he said, “What are you doing here?”

Angel shrugged. “It’s crowded. There’s nowhere else to sit.”

Aki stayed staring at him. 

“You do realize that we’re not friends, right?” he asked. “We don’t have this kind of relationship.”

Angel scoffed. “It’s not like I’m asking you to marry me or something. Drama queen.”

Aki’s mouth tugged down into a frown. He didn’t appreciate being called a drama queen. He wasn’t a drama queen. If anything, Angel was the one who was a drama queen. But he thought it would perhaps be a little immature and drama queen-like of him to say something like Nuh uh, that’s you so he just kept his mouth shut. 

Some of the ice cream dripped down Angel’s hand, and his tongue darted out to lick around the base of the cone. Then he brought his hand to his lips and licked his own knuckles and palm before sucking two fingers into his mouth. 

Aki’s frown deepened. “Stop it.”

Angel looked up at him. “Stop what?”

Aki waved a hand at him to indicate all that. 

“You know what you’re doing.”

“I’m not doing anything.”

Once again, Aki considered the possibility that arguing would make him immature and a drama queen, so he bit down his words and went back to shoveling food into his mouth. Finally, Angel finished his ice cream and chomped on the cone until there was nothing left. When he finished, he brought his hand back to his mouth and licked it some more. 

“You’re like a cat,” Aki muttered. 

Angel looked at him and blinked a couple of times. “Cute and fuzzy?”

“Annoying. Licking yourself a lot. Climbing on things you’re not supposed to climb on.”

“Like your dick?”

A surprised laugh burst out of Aki’s mouth, and his hand shot up to stifle it. Angel caught it though, the corners of his lips dragging up into a smile. Aki realized with a start that he wasn’t sure he’d ever seen Angel smile. Something about that realization made Aki’s stomach do aerial gymnastics. He forced the sensation away. 

Aki grabbed his tray of food, standing up from the table. 

“Go lick yourself in front of someone else.”

He started to walk away, and didn’t even pause when Angel shouted, “But you like when I lick myself in front of you!” after him

The most embarrassing part? It wasn’t even a lie. 

***

“We need to start working on our slides.”

Angel looked down at him but didn’t slow his hips as he fucked back on Aki’s cock, bouncing on his lap on top of him. 

“Is that really what you want to talk about right now?”

“You don’t answer my texts and I can barely get your attention any other time.” Aki grabbed onto Angel’s hips, helping him bounce. “This is my only opportunity.”

Angel ground back hard and bit down on his bottom lip. “You’re bad at dirty talk.”

“And you’re a brat.”

“You like that I’m a brat,” Angel gasped. 

Yes. Yes, I do.

“No, I don’t.”

Still holding tight to Angel’s hips, Aki started to thrust upwards, hammering into Angel’s prostate in the perfect way that sometimes made Angel come untouched. 

Sure enough, Angel came barely a minute later, shooting cum all over Aki’s chest. Aki followed him shortly after, fucking Angel into overstimulation (which he also enjoyed, Aki now knew) before emptying into the condom between them. 

When Angel collapsed down to the bed next to him, Aki said, “So. Slides?”

Angel sighed. “Fine. Slides.”

***

Aki didn’t go to a lot of parties. He never really had much of an interest. But he always caved on Halloween. Denji and Power were just always so enthusiastic about planning a costume for the three of them. This year, they were going as the Men in Black, which Aki appreciated because it required the bare minimum of effort. Suit? Easy. Sunglasses? No problem. 

Denji and Power pregamed hard enough that they were drunk already by the time they showed up at the party. Aki, however, was stone-cold sober. He figured he’d maybe have a drink or two when he got there, but he wasn’t interested in vomiting like Power surely would in a matter of hours, or making a fool of himself like Denji surely would in a matter of seconds. 

“I love this song!” Power shouted once they’d walked in the door, grabbing Denji’s hand and dragging him over to the dancefloor. Aki watched as the two of them started flailing around in a way that Aki would never have described as dancing, but wasn’t dissimilar from the way the other drunk idiots surrounding them were moving. 

He was still watching his two best friends jump and writhe around when something in the corner of his eye caught his attention. A glimpse of red hair had him turning to spot Angel. 

Aki’s mouth went embarrassingly dry when he took in Angel’s outfit. 

He was dressed as an angel, which Aki thought was frankly a bit uncreative, but suited him so well that he couldn’t really complain. He was clad in a pair of white shorts that were ridiculously short and tight and a white bra that wasn’t dissimilar from the pink one he’d worn for Aki all those weeks ago. Big angel wings hung from his back, and there was a halo perched above his head. 

He looked hot. He looked hotter than Aki had ever seen him, which was saying something. 

He was also currently being grinded on by two men. 

Angel’s skin was shiny with sweat and his eyes were drifted closed as he danced, pushing his hips back against one man while the other danced against his front. It was dirty and obscene and as he watched, Aki’s hand squeezed into a fist at his side. 

He should not have cared. He’d made it very clear that he and Angel’s relationship was exclusively physical, and there was no understanding between them that they weren’t sleeping with other people. Aki sure wasn’t sleeping with anyone else, but that didn’t mean Angel wasn’t allowed to fuck around. Angel was more than allowed. If anything, it should have been a good thing. If he was sleeping with other people, that meant he wasn’t likely to get attached to Aki. Not that Aki was really worried about that. He had no reason to be. Angel had never given any indication that he was interested in anything beyond what their current arrangement entailed. 

But despite all of those very convincing reasons that Aki shouldn’t have cared about Angel practically getting fucked by two men on this dancefloor, a strange, unfamiliar emotion pumped through his bloodstream. It was a little bit like annoyance, a little bit like anger, and a little bit like disgust. And there was a very, very frightening undertone of possessiveness to it that Aki needed to squash right away. 

He was jealous, he realized. 

Aki needed alcohol. 

He spun away from the dancefloor. He’d seen enough. It took him a few minutes to track down a drink, but finally he found something that wasn’t too fruity or disgusting and downed it right away. He hoped that the liquor would dull the jealous feeling that was digging into his chest. 

For the next hour or so, he avoided the dancefloor like the plague. He didn’t want to see Angel again. Not with those two men, or with any other. It meant he basically spent the whole party standing with his back against the wall, drinking his drink like a loser, but it was a fair tradeoff to avoid making that jealous feeling worse.

Eventually, he stepped outside for a cigarette, tucking himself against the wall by the entrance and lighting up. The air was a bit chilly, and the cigarette warmed him up from the inside. If he focused on that sensation, he could ignore all the other ones swimming around in his chest. 

Another glimpse of red hair had him turning again. 

One of the men from before was exiting the party, and he had his arm wrapped around Angel. Angel’s head was lolled against his shoulder, his eyes closed and lips parted. He was still standing, but it looked like this man was supporting most of his body weight. He was practically carrying Angel. 

Suddenly, that jealous feeling got replaced by blazing anger. 

Aki extinguished his cigarette on the wall and tossed it away before walking right in front of the man and Angel, stopping them. 

“Hey, man, what the fuck?” the guy said, trying to step around Aki. 

“What do you think you’re doing?” Aki asked, stepping back in front of him.

The man smirked, and it was slimy. Disgusting. 

“I’m taking him home.” He nodded his head towards Angel, who now seemed completely and totally passed out. 

“Yeah, that’s not happening,” Aki said. 

“What are you, his boyfriend?” the guy spat. 

Aki wasn’t going to answer that question, because the answer was no, but it was entirely irrelevant. 

“Hand him over,” Aki said sternly. 

The man just stared at him. “He told me he wanted me to take him home. He was dancing with me all night.”

“Don’t fucking care.”

Angel was passed out drunk. It didn’t matter if he’d been dancing with this guy or if he wanted him to fuck him before or anything. That was not going to happen now. Aki was not going to let it. 

“Hand. Him. Over,” Aki repeated. 

Finally, the man gave in. He clearly didn’t think Angel was worth getting in a fight for. He passed a still-mostly-unconscious Angel over to Aki, who took over supporting his entire weight. Luckily, Angel wasn’t very heavy. 

“Fuck you, asshole,” the guy spat at Aki, and then stalked away. 

Aki shifted Angel around so he had a better hold on him, and the movement made Angel stir. 

“Wha’s goin on?” he slurred, eyes opening just a little. 

Aki tucked him tighter against his chest. “Let’s get you home.”

The party wasn’t too far from Angel’s apartment, and Angel luckily was cognizant enough to at least put one foot in front of the other. He was back to seeming mostly out of it by the time they walked in the door, so Aki gave up then and hoisted him into his arms in a bridal-style carry and brought him to the bedroom. He pulled off Angel’s halo and wings before placing him down on the bed. 

Angel stirred again, shakily pulling up onto his knees. He reached forward and grabbed the front of Aki’s jacket. 

“Hmmmm,” he hummed. “I like the suit. You look sexy.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

Aki tried to remove his hands, but Angel held on, starting to tug like he was trying to get the jacket off. 

“Angel, what are you doing?”

“Hmmmm,” he hummed again. “You should fuck me.”

“I’m not going to fuck you.” Aki pulled free from his grip. “You’re way too drunk.”

“But I look so hot. And you look so hot.” 

“Doesn’t matter. Not having sex with you while you’re like this.”

Angel pouted. It was cute. It annoyed Aki that it was cute. 

“I’m gonna go now,” Aki said, pointing back towards the door. 

Angel sat up higher on his knees, his eyes widening. “Wait!”

“What?”

Angel bit down on his bottom lip, tucking a messy strand of hair behind his ear. Then he said, “Can you stay with me?”

It wasn’t what Aki was expecting. His tone was surprisingly gentle, his cheeks lightly flushed pink. The sight of it made Aki’s chest constrict around his heart, although he was unsure why. 

When Aki didn’t answer, Angel quietly squeaked out, “Please?”

Aki’s chest constricted even more. 

“Fine,” he said. He wasn’t sure why he was agreeing. Maybe because he was worried about Angel choking on his own vomit. Maybe just because he was a complete fucking idiot. 

Angel’s face broke out in a soft little smile, and he laid back down on the bed. 

As Aki pulled off his suit jacket and undid his belt he asked, “Do you want to put on pajamas?”

“No,” Angel replied, eyes closed again. “Too much work.”

“You’re going to get uncomfortable in the middle of the night.”

“Whatever.”

Aki kicked off his shoes and then climbed into the bed, still in his pants and button down. He wasn’t planning on getting any more undressed, even though Angel had seen him in far less countless times. But it felt too intimate to remove any more of his clothing. Besides, he didn’t want to give Angel any ideas if he was still horny. 

Aki slipped under the covers but kept a good amount of space between him and Angel.

“You should turn onto your side,” Aki said. 

“Why?” Angel asked quietly. 

“So you don’t choke on your vomit.”

“I’m not going to throw up.”

“Angel. Turn on your side.”

Angel sighed, but finally turned onto his side so he was facing Aki. 

“Careful, Aki,” he said, voice slurred with sleep. “I’m going to start thinking that you care.”

Yeah, Aki thought. So am I. 

***

When Aki woke in the morning, there was sunlight streaming in through Angel’s blinds. His clothes felt uncomfortably tight on his body, and his mouth felt mossy since he hadn’t brushed his teeth the night before. 

Angel was asleep in his arms. 

He was lying against Aki’s chest, with Aki’s arms wrapped tight around him. Aki glanced down enough to see the way Angel’s cheek laid against his wrinkled shirt, mouth parted as he puffed warm breaths that Aki could feel through the fabric. He was snoring very quietly. 

Aki stared down at him. 

Oh God, Aki thought. This is bad. 

***

Slowly, they made progress on this project. They still had some time before it had to be finished, but they needed to lock in. Aki started forcing them to spend less time fucking and spend more time doing actual work. Angel was pissy about it. Aki ignored him. They would fail if they didn’t get their work finished in time. 

Besides, Aki thought it was probably a good thing to cool things down between them a bit. Since Halloween, Aki had been finding himself more and more aware of all the things he actually liked about Angel. He liked his face and his hair and his big eyes. He liked the way he let Aki fuck him, and he liked the way he sucked Aki’s cock. He liked the way he smiled sometimes (rare) and the way he laughed (even rarer). He liked how it had felt the time Angel had slept in his arms. 

That didn’t mean that Angel didn’t still drive him crazy, because he did. He was still apathetic and disinterested, and Aki was still doing 90% of the work on their project. He was still unbearably bratty (although Aki might have actually liked that), and he often made Aki want to rip his own hair out with frustration. 

But nowadays, all of those things were a bit wrapped up in each other. Aki had a hard time telling the difference between which things he liked and which things he didn’t. He didn’t want to consider that that might mean he actually just liked Angel in general, because that was a can of worms he wasn’t ready to open yet. Maybe ever.

That Sunday, they were meeting at Aki’s apartment. Angel showed up fifteen minutes late. It wasn’t abnormal for Angel to be late, but fifteen minutes was a bit excessive for him. When he came in through the unlocked door, he headed right into Aki’s bedroom and threw his backpack down on the ground before crawling onto the bed next to Aki, who had his laptop pulled up with their (largely unfinished) presentation. 

“Angel,” Aki said, “did you do your slides like I asked you to?”

“No,” Angel said simply. 

“Angel,” Aki said again. “We’re starting to run out of time here. You have to start pulling your weight.”

Angel just shrugged. Then he said, “Maybe you should punish me.”

Aki’s mouth fell open in surprise. “Wh—What?”

Angel took Aki’s laptop and placed it down on the side of the bed before crawling over right onto Aki’s lap, settling down on his stomach. He turned his head enough to catch Aki’s eyes, and blinked his own innocently at Aki. 

“I’ve been bad, daddy. You should spank me.”

Oh fucking shit. 

Aki swallowed. “Don’t call me that,” he said, but his stupid traitorous cock betrayed him by getting hard. There was no chance Angel couldn’t feel it against his stomach. And the way Angel smirked made that quite clear. 

Even despite his embarrassment, Aki couldn’t help the fact that he was now turned on and interested in what Angel had just suggested. 

“You sure?” he asked, still holding Angel’s eyes. 

Angel nodded. “Yeah. I think it might be fun.”

Aki tucked his fingers beneath the waistband of Angel’s pants and boxers, tugging them down to Angel’s mid-thighs. He ran his palms over Angel’s ass, pulling his cheeks apart to expose his hole. He would get to that later, he figured. 

“How many do you think you deserve?” he asked. 

“Maybe five?” Angel supplied, his voice sounding just a little bit nervous. 

“I don’t know if that’s good enough. You’ve been really bad, Angel. Not doing any work. Making me do all of it.”

“Ten?” he said, and this time he sounded more than a little bit nervous. Aki was embarrassed by how much he enjoyed that fact. 

Aki hummed, nodding. “Ten sounds alright. Count for me, please.”

Then he brought his hand down on one side of Angel’s ass. 

Angel made a small yelping noise that Aki was also embarrassed to admit to liking. There was a little pause, but finally he managed to say, “One.”

“Good boy,” Aki said before he could help it. 

He slapped the other side, waiting for Angel to let out a slightly-strangled sounding Two before going back to the first side, landing another slap right in the same place as before. Angel’s cheeks were already growing red, with perfect handprint-shaped marks that Aki was (you guessed it) completely embarrassed by how much he liked. 

It turned out Aki liked everything about this situation. Who would have thought?

He continued alternating cheeks, making sure to hit in the same spots each time. By the time he was at eight, Angel’s voice sounded wet and strained. He considered asking Angel if he wanted him to stop early, but Angel was bossy and bratty. If he wanted to stop, Aki figured he’d say. 

When Angel nearly sobbed out Ten, Aki took away his hand, looking down at the red marks on Angel’s ass. He looked so pretty like this. So perfect. Aki was overcome by the humiliating desire to ask if he could take a picture, but he wasn’t going to do that. He wished he could though. If he had a picture of this, he would never want to watch porn again. 

“You okay?” he asked. 

Angel nodded. “Yeah.” His voice still sounded strained, but then he said, “Can you fuck me now?”

He didn’t have to ask Aki twice. 

Aki helped pull Angel up, yanking his pants off the rest of the way and tugging his shirt over his head. He then removed his own clothing, reaching over to rummage through the bedside table for lube and a condom. 

Aki stretched Angel quickly and efficiently, avoiding his prostate the entire time. He didn’t want to risk Angel coming on his fingers. He wanted him to come on his cock and his cock only. 

When he went to roll on the condom, Angel stopped him by saying, “You don’t have to use a condom.”

Aki froze. “That’s a terrible idea,” he said finally. “I have no idea how many other people you’re screwing.”

Memories of Halloween rushed through Aki’s brain, and he fought down a wave of nausea. 

Angel shook his head back against the pillow. “No one. And I get STI tested every six weeks.”

“Why are you getting STI tested that often if you’re not having unprotected sex with randos?” Aki asked, but his brain was a little bit fixated on the revelation that Angel wasn’t sleeping with anybody else. It should not have mattered. Not at all. But something about that information was making Aki’s stomach twist with an unidentifiable feeling. 

“Because I have an intense fear of contracting syphilis and going crazy like those people back in the olden days,” Angel replied. “Are you going to give me syphilis?”

Aki knew that was Angel’s way of asking if he was sleeping with anybody else either. 

“No,” Aki said. “I’m not going to give you syphilis.”

“Okay,” Angel said. “Then you should come inside me.”

Aki’s stomach twisted again. This time, he realized it was with anticipation and pleasure. 

He probably should have said no. Angel could have been lying about not sleeping with anybody else. Besides, Aki had never had sex with someone without a condom. It seemed a little bit too… intimate. In a way that probably should have made him uncomfortable.  

But still, Aki found himself saying, “Fine.”

He tossed the condom aside, crawling back between Angel’s legs. He took hold of his calves and picked them up so his ankles rested on Aki’s shoulders. Then he guided his cock to Angel’s entrance, pressing the uncovered tip against Angel’s rim. 

When he pushed inside, his vision went white. 

There was no reason it should have felt so different. Maybe it was really all in Aki’s head. But as he pushed his cock deeper and deeper inside Angel, he had to literally fight not to come instantly. 

Finally, he bottomed out. He paused, trying to catch his breath, but he only had a minute before Angel was starting to squirm around impatiently.

“Come on, daddy,” Angel gasped. “Fuck me like you mean it.”

Aki pulled out and pushed in. Hard. Hard enough to make Angel rock up on the bed and shout. 

“I told you not to call me that,” Aki said through his teeth. 

Angel laughed, but the laugh turned to a moan when Aki angled his hips to hit against Angel’s prostate. “But you like it.”

Unfortunately, Aki did. But he wasn’t going to admit that. 

He fucked Angel like he meant it, as Angel had requested—hard and fast and furious. It wasn’t long before Angel was crying and begging for Aki to touch his cock. He obliged this time, gripping it and starting to stroke in time with his thrusts. Angel came barely a minute later, and the way he tightened around Aki was the final straw. Aki shoved his hips forward, grinding deep inside Angel as he started to come. Inside him. 

When he finished, he pulled back, his cock slipping free from Angel’s now-stretched out hole. He watched, feeling a bit enraptured, as Angel’s hole fluttered and Aki’s cum dripped out. 

Then Angel pulled his knees into his chest and reached a hand down between his legs, collecting some of Aki’s cum and starting to fuck it back inside himself with his fingers. 

“Angel,” Aki said, the word coming out like a warning. “Stop.”

“Mmm.” Angel’s eyes drifted closed. “Why?”

“Because if you don’t stop I’m going to fuck you again.”

“Maybe I want you to fuck me again.”

“You just came. You’re going to be all oversensitive.”

“Mmm,” Angel hummed again. “That’s the point. Fuck me until I'm hard again.”

God, he was so hot. Why was he so hot? Was he trying to kill Aki?

Angel’s eyes opened to meet Aki’s. 

“Please, daddy?” he said. 

That time, Aki didn’t tell him not to call him that. 

***

They fucked again. Twice. And after, Aki carried Angel’s limp, tired body into his shower, washing the lube and cum from his sticky skin. Angel leaned against him, back to Aki’s chest as Aki washed his hair. Aki couldn’t help but bring his lips to Angel’s warm, wet neck, pressing a gentle kiss there. 

“Can I take a nap in your bed?” Angel asked. 

The correct answer was no. Aki was supposed to be letting things cool off between them. He wasn’t supposed to fuck him three times, shower with him, and then let him sleep in his bed. 

But still, he said, “Okay.”

When they got into his bed, Angel climbed right onto Aki, laying his head against Aki’s chest again, like the last time. Aki couldn’t help but wrap his arms around him. 

This is stupid, he thought. This is so, so stupid. 

But Aki did it anyway. 

***

“What’s up with you?” Angel asked from Aki's bed, where he was stretched out on his stomach, feet in the air and laptop out in front of him.

Aki sat next to him, his own laptop open as he worked on their slides. “What do you mean?”

“You’re being all quiet and you haven’t tried to take my clothes off once.”

Aki scowled. “I’m always quiet.”

“Not like this.”

Angel wasn’t wrong, but Aki was surprised he’d noticed. Perhaps he was more perceptive than Aki gave him credit for. 

Aki considered brushing his concerns aside. He wasn’t sure he really wanted to talk about it. And especially not with Angel, who seemed about as empathetic as a concrete wall. But maybe that was a good thing, really. Aki didn’t really want sympathy. He wasn’t sure what he wanted, if anything. 

Aki placed his laptop aside. “It’s my brother’s birthday,” he said. 

Angel furrowed his brows. “Do you, like, hate your brother or something?”

“No.” Aki shook his head. “He’s dead.”

“Oh.” Angel’s eyes widened a bit. Then he said, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright,” Aki replied. “He’s been dead for a while.”

Now, Aki expected Angel to hit him with all the usual questions. How did he die? How long has he been dead for? Do you want to talk about it?

Angel didn’t ask any of those questions. Instead, he just sat up and crawled forward, taking Aki’s laptop out of his hands and placing it aside. He climbed onto Aki’s lap, wrapping his legs around Aki’s back and his arms around his neck. He tucked his face against Aki’s shoulder. 

“What are you doing?” Aki asked, his voice a bit strangled. 

“Hugging you,” Angel said, like it was so simple. 

Aki just sat there, stiff in his arms. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been hugged like this. Denji and Power were physical with each other, but not usually with him, and not like this. This was even different than when he and Angel had cuddled while sleeping. This was more intentional. Angel was trying to comfort him, he realized. 

And shockingly, it was working. 

Finally, Aki relaxed against him, wrapping his own arms around Angel’s back and holding him tighter. He laid his cheek down on the top of Angel’s head, breathing in the scent of his shampoo. He smelled nice. He always smelled nice, and Aki realized with a start that he’d grown far too familiar with his smell. With his touch. With his taste. With everything. 

Oh fuck, ran through his brain. Oh fuck. Oh fuck. Oh fuck. 

I’m falling in love with him. 

Aki recoiled away from him, practically pushing Angel out of his lap. 

“What?” Angel asked, looking concerned. 

“Nothing,” Aki shot back. “I just… I need you to go.”

Angel’s eyebrows furrowed again. “Why?”

“I just forgot that I have to do something. I need you to leave.”

Angel stared at him for several seconds, looking unconvinced. He knew Aki was lying. But in the end, he didn’t push it. He just said a quiet, “Okay,” and collected his things, throwing them back into his bag and leaving the apartment. 

Once he was gone, Aki laid back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. 

I have to stop this, he thought to himself. I can’t let myself fall in love with him. 

That wasn’t his plan. He didn’t do relationships. And he didn’t even like Angel. He couldn’t fall in love with him. He had to find a way to stop this before it could get worse. 

Angel was like a disease. An infection. And he had to kill it before it could take over him. 

***

The next day, Aki went to their physics professor. 

“Ma’am, if it’s not too much to ask, I’d like to do the rest of my project by myself.”

The professor looked at him confusedly. “And why is that?”

“My partner has been difficult. I’ve done nearly all the work by myself as it is. I don’t want to work with him any more.”

For a moment, Aki thought she was going to tell him no. It would be her prerogative, to make him finish out the rest of the project with Angel. There wasn’t that much time left anyway. 

But finally, she nodded. “I understand, and I think that sounds reasonable. I’ll talk to him and inform him of the situation, but you should be alright to finish out the rest of your project individually.”

“Thank you so much, ma’am.” Aki offered her a polite nod. “I really appreciate it.”

***

Aki should have known that Angel wouldn’t go away that easily. It wasn’t in his nature. 

But still, he was surprised by the pounding on his front door that evening. He ignored it, staying in his room, but then Power called out, “Hey, Aki! It’s that guy who sucked your dick on our couch!”

Aki was about to call back for Power not to let him in, but before he could, Angel came storming into his bedroom. 

“What the fuck is your problem?” Angel shouted at him. 

Aki sat up fully to face him. He sighed. Time to get this over with. 

“I don’t want to see you any more,” Aki said calmly. 

Angel glared at him, hands gripped into fists at his side. “So you got me kicked off our project? Because you don’t want to fuck me anymore?”

“You haven’t done any work. It’s my project.”

“Seriously, what the fuck is your problem?” Angel repeated. “What the hell happened?”

“Nothing happened,” Aki replied. “I just don’t want to see you any more. And I don’t want you dragging down my grade on this project.”

He knew he was being unfair. He owed Angel some kind of real explanation. He just wasn’t going to give him one. 

Angel stared at him. For a moment, his bottom lip jutted out and Aki thought he was going to cry. But he didn’t. He just spat out, “Go fuck yourself, Aki.”

And then he stormed out of Aki's room. The front door slammed closed behind him. 

Only a minute later, Power stuck her head in the room. “You gonna tell me what that was about?”

Aki groaned, flopping back down on the bed. “You don’t want to know.”

***

Angel stopped coming to class. Aki didn’t know if he dropped or if he was just planning on failing. He didn’t care, not really. Or he wished he didn’t, at least. 

He made progress on his (their) project, and he didn’t think about Angel. He didn’t think about how upset Angel had looked the last time he saw him. He didn’t think about Angel’s scent or Angel’s face or Angel’s voice. He didn’t think about falling asleep with Angel in his arms, or fucking Angel without a condom. He didn’t think about missing him. 

He didn’t miss him. Not at all. 

That’s what he told himself, at least. And sometimes he believed it.

***

Aki had protested going to the club. He wasn’t feeling it. He wasn’t ever really feeling it, but he especially wasn’t feeling it then. But it was Denji’s birthday, and despite pretending otherwise, Aki did actually love his best friend. So he let him and Power drag him to the club, even though he really just wanted to sit on the couch and eat chips. That was pretty much all he did nowadays. That and work on a project that he actually cared very little about, as it turned out. 

The club smelled like sweat and alcohol, and Aki wrinkled his nose at the scent. The three of them made a beeline for the bar, and Denji ordered shots. Aki pounded his back and then ordered a drink for himself. This was only going to be bearable if he was at least a little bit drunk. 

They were still standing by the bar when Power said, “Hey, isn’t that that guy?”

“What guy?” Aki asked, but turned his head to see where Power was looking and—

Oh fuck. 

Standing across the club was Angel, and he was looking right at Aki. 

Aki hadn’t seen him in weeks, and he was surprised by how much emotion rushed through him at the sight. He wanted to turn around and leave the club. He wanted to pull Angel into his arms. He wanted to throw up. He wanted to bend Angel over the bar and fuck him. 

It didn’t help that Angel looked like that—skin flushed, hair messy, and dressed in more short-shorts, this time paired with a mesh top that left nothing to the imagination. 

Why did he have to be so hot? It was unfair. 

Aki was still staring as Angel turned on his heel and stomped away through the club, out of sight. 

“What guy?” Denji repeated. 

Aki swallowed. “No one. Just a guy from my physics class.”

He could nearly laugh. If only that was all Angel was to him. 

***

Aki got drunk. Not too drunk, but drunk enough. That was the only way he could tolerate being here in this stupid fucking club with his stupid fucking ex-boyfriend (he’s not your ex-boyfriend, you guys never dated) running around somewhere. He didn’t see him again, at least. Not until Denji and Power dragged him over to the dancefloor. 

It was then that Aki spotted him in the crowd of people. And like last time he saw him on a dancefloor, Angel wasn’t alone. 

This time there was only one man, at least. But that was the only part of the situation that was a positive. 

The man had his hands on Angel’s hips, body plastered to Angel’s back as they ground against each other. Angel had one hand up and buried in the man’s hair, tugging him down so he was panting in Angel’s ear. Angel’s eyes were closed, but then, like he sensed Aki, they burst open. He held Aki’s eye contact for several seconds, face impassive, but then he started to smirk. He started to grind back even harder, and Aki saw the man moan against his ear. 

Then the man’s hand snaked into the front of Angel’s shorts and Aki literally saw red.

He didn’t even say anything to Power and Denji. He just fled the dancefloor, heading out the door of the club and pulling a cigarette out with shaky fingers. That jealous feeling from Halloween was back, but this time it was times a thousand. Aki had never felt like this. Ever. He felt like he was going to throw up, or punch the brick wall. Or both. Probably both. 

What he really wanted was to storm back inside that club and rip Angel away from that man. 

It was unfair of him. Profoundly unfair. Aki had ended things with Angel. He had no claim over him. But the knowledge that Angel was in there letting another man touch him was enough to make Aki want to kill something. 

He hadn’t even gotten his cigarette lit by the time Angel was coming out the door after him. Like before, Aki should have known he’d come. He should have known that he wouldn’t go away that easily. 

“What are you doing out here?” Aki nearly barked. 

Angel’s eyes narrowed into a glare. “You don’t own the outside.”

“Go the fuck back inside, Angel,” Aki snapped. 

Angel’s glare intensified. “Don’t tell me what to do.”

“What do you even want with me?” Aki threw the unlit cigarette aside. “It seemed like you were plenty busy in there.”

Angel’s glare dissipated, his lips drawing up into a smile. It was not Angel’s nice smile. It was a very mean smile, unlike any smile Aki had ever seen from him before. 

“Aw,” he teased. “Are you jealous?”

Yes.

“No,” Aki gritted out through his teeth. 

“You are.” Angel took a step closer to him. “You didn’t like seeing me with that other guy.” 

“Angel,” Aki warned. 

“Maybe when I go back inside I’ll let him fuck me in the bathroom,” Angel said. “Maybe I won’t even make him wear a condom.”

He’s bluffing, Aki realized. He’s just trying to upset me. 

Unfortunately, it was working. 

“Shut your fucking mouth,” Aki said, his voice low and angry. 

Angel took another step closer. He was right in front of Aki. He tilted his head up, still smiling as he looked right at Aki. 

“Make me,” he said. 

Aki couldn’t help it. He grabbed Angel’s head and tugged him forward into a kiss, smashing their lips together. 

This was stupid. Aki had ended things with him for a reason. And this was certainly a good way to backslide. But he just couldn’t fight it. He was so angry and so jealous and he wanted to put Angel in his place. He wanted to remind him of how good Aki fucked him. He wanted to ruin him for anybody else. 

Angel pressed up on his tiptoes, arms wrapping around Aki’s neck. Aki spun them around to press Angel against the wall, deepening the kiss. He licked into his mouth, making Angel groan against his lips before finally pulling away. 

“I am taking you home,” Aki said, fighting to keep his voice steady. “And I am going to fuck you the way I want to. And you’re just going to take it.”

Angel’s pupils dilated, his throat bobbing as he swallowed. Then he nodded.

***

It was a struggle to keep his hands off Angel on the entire walk back to Aki’s apartment. Aki was beyond thankful that Denji and Power were still at the club when they finally arrived, because he hoisted Angel into his arms the second they were inside, pressing him back against the door and kissing him hard again. 

Finally, he walked them into the bedroom, tossing Angel down onto the bed roughly. 

“Take off your clothes,” Aki ordered. 

Angel stayed leaning back on his arms, looking up at him defiantly. “I don’t have to do a thing you fucking say.”

Aki pulled off his own shirt, crawling onto the bed in front of him. “You do if you want me to fuck you.”

“And who said I want you to fuck me?”

“Angel,” Aki said. “Don’t be a brat.”

“You like when I’m a brat.”

Aki crawled closer. “Not tonight. Tonight I want you to be my good boy.”

Angel rolled his eyes. “Not going to happen.”

Aki sighed, tilting his head to the side. “Fine. You want to be bad? I’ll just have to fuck the brattiness out of you.”

Angel laughed. “I’d love to see you try.”

Aki planned on doing exactly that. 

He grabbed Angel, flipping him around onto his stomach. Angel pushed back up on his hands and knees, but Aki was already tugging down his shorts and underwear, ripping them from Angel’s legs when they reached his ankles. He grabbed the back of Angel’s neck, shoving him down so his head was in a pillow, his hair fanned out all around him. 

Aki spread his cheeks apart. Then he spat right on his hole. 

Angel made a choked-out moaning sound. 

“You like that?” Aki said. “You like when I spit on you? When I remind you who you fucking belong to?”

Angel turned his head to the side on the pillow to meet Aki’s eyes. “I don’t belong to you, and you know it.”

It was true, and Aki hated that fact. Aki had done that. Angel didn’t belong to him because Aki had ended things between them. That realization made Aki so, so angry with himself. He didn’t know what to do with that anger. Where to put it. 

Maybe into Angel. 

He grabbed the bottle of lube out of his bedside table and squirted some directly onto Angel’s ass, spreading it around with his fingers before pushing one right in, harder and quicker than he normally did. Angel gasped, but shoved his hips back like he wanted Aki deeper. 

Aki added a second finger before Angel was ready for it, but he didn’t care. He didn’t think Angel did either, not based on the way he moaned at the stretch, continuing to push his hips back. 

“God, you’re so desperate,” Aki said, using one hand to hold Angel’s hip in place. “Such a fucking whore.”

Angel made a perfect whimpering noise at that. He liked being degraded. Of course he did. 

Aki worked a third finger inside, curling them to hit Angel’s prostate. Angel shouted and then unexpectedly came onto the sheets. Aki kept fucking him through it, continuing even when Angel started to whine with overstimulation. 

“What’s wrong?” Aki teased, still abusing Angel’s prostate. “I thought you liked when I fuck you until you're hard again.”

“Aki,” Angel gasped. 

Aki’s eyes fell closed, his cock twitching at just the sound of Angel saying his name. He wanted him to say it again. He wanted him screaming and crying it.

Finally, Aki pulled his fingers free, reaching for the lube again. He pulled off his pants and started to slick up his cock, but paused at the last second. 

“How many people have fucked you since me?” he asked. 

Angel whined again, pushing his hips back on nothing. “No one,” he said, his words slurred. 

Aki slapped his ass. “Don’t lie to me.”

“No one,” Angel repeated. “No one since you.”

“I don’t believe you. Not after I saw you being a little slut tonight.”

Angel shook his head against the pillow, pushing his hips back again. For someone talking such a big game earlier, he was certainly falling apart by now. 

“I promise,” Angel gasped. “I haven’t let anyone fuck me.”

“But you would have let the guy fuck you tonight.”

Angel shook his head again. “No. Just wanted you. Only want you.”

It was exactly what Aki wanted to hear. And it was stupid, but he believed Angel. 

He pushed into him on one thrust, making Angel scream and grab at the bedsheets. He felt somehow impossibly tighter than usual. It was like Aki had forgotten how incredible Angel felt. How good fucking him was. 

“Fucking god, Angel,” he groaned, starting to pump his hips in and out, the sound of skin slapping together echoing throughout the room. Angel was still pushing back against him, moaning on each thrust. Aki gripped his hips, helping pull him back so he was getting as deep as humanly possible. 

Aki grabbed Angel’s hair, pulling him up so his back was arched and he was lifted off the bed. Angel screamed, possibly from pain, but possibly from how Aki was now perfectly angled to hit his prostate. 

Suddenly, Aki wanted to see Angel’s face. He wanted to see the way his eyes scrunched closed and mouth dropped open with pleasure. He wanted to see him come on Aki’s cock. 

He pulled out, making Angel whine, but then flipped him around onto his back, hitching up his legs and then pushing back inside. 

Sure enough, Angel looked perfect. He always looked perfect, but Aki thought he never looked better than when Aki was fucking him. Aki couldn’t help it—he leaned down and brought their lips together in a sloppy kiss. It was more tongues and teeth than anything, and Angel was drooling onto him, but he didn’t care. 

When he pulled back, he said, “I want you think about this the next time you think about letting someone else fuck you. I want you to think about how good I make you feel. How hard I make you come.”

Angel just nodded, but that wasn’t good enough. Not for Aki. Not then.

“Say you understand,” he said firmly, hitting Angel’s prostate head-on and making him scream. 

“I understand!” Angel shouted.

And then Aki said something totally ridiculous. Completely idiotic. Something he never should have said. 

“Nobody else will ever fuck you like me. Ever. You're mine, Angel. Mine.”

It was so unfair. So horrible. He’d dumped Angel. And here he was, being possessive and unfair. But he said it anyway. He said it because he meant it. He didn’t want anybody else to fuck Angel. Ever. And he knew deep in his bones that only he would ever fuck Angel like this. Just the way Angel wanted him to. 

They were a complete disaster, but this? This was perfect.

Angel came untouched between them, and that was too much for Aki. He came deep inside of Angel, still pushing his hips forward until it literally hurt his cock to keep going. When he pulled out, he watched his cum drip out of Angel’s hole. This time, Angel didn’t push it back inside, so neither did Aki. He just jumped off the bed and ran to the bathroom to grab a wet washcloth. By the time he came back, Angel was asleep. Aki cleaned him up carefully and then helped maneuver him under the covers before crawling in behind him, wrapping an arm around his waist. 

Maybe this is right, Aki thought. Maybe this was fate. 

He’d dumped Angel, but then Angel had miraculously been there tonight. Maybe that was the universe’s way of pushing them back together. Maybe this was Aki’s second chance. 

Because now, laying there with Angel back in his arms, Aki couldn’t remember why he thought this was a bad idea. He couldn’t fathom any good reason for letting this go. 

And if this was his second chance, Aki was going to take it. 

***

The bed was cold when Aki awoke the next morning. He turned over, hand skimming across the bedsheets for Angel, but he came up empty. When he peeled open his eyes, he realized that Angel was gone. 

He sat up and looked around the room. Angel’s clothes were no longer strewn across the floor. There was no evidence that he’d ever been in Aki’s room. 

Oh fuck.

Aki scrambled for his discarded pants from last night, pulling his phone out of the pocket. He swiped through his contacts until he found Angel’s name, hitting Call and bringing the phone to his ear. 

It went right to voicemail. 

He opened their texts. The last one was from Angel, from the Monday morning that Aki went to talk to their professor. 

Angel: I’m sorry about whatever happened yesterday

Aki stared at it for a few moments, but then started to compose his own text. 

Aki: Hey, can we please talk about last night?

No Delivered appeared beneath the message. 

Angel blocked him.

Oh fucking fuck. 

Aki opened Instagram (which he pretty much never used) and searched up Angel’s name. Aki had found his account before, but now it was missing. Like it never existed. 

He’d fucking blocked him on Instagram too. 

Aki tossed his phone aside and flopped back down on his bed. 

Maybe he deserved this. He knew that he’d hurt Angel, and now Angel was punishing him for it. But having sex with him just to vanish the next morning without a trace? That was pretty evil. 

Now Aki had a choice. He could roll over. Give up. Finish the semester and never see Angel again. 

Or he could go after him. 

He knew which option was easier. Which made the most sense. He hadn’t been looking for a relationship when this all started, but he had to admit that whatever was between them was certainly no longer exclusively physical. It hadn’t been for a while. But now? Now it was something else entirely. 

Aki wanted him. God, did Aki want him. 

Aki was in love with him, no matter how ridiculous that seemed. 

And suddenly that seemed very simple. 

***

Aki was running. He wasn’t sure why. It made more sense to walk. Angel’s apartment wasn’t suddenly going to move if it took Aki an extra few minutes to get there. But he couldn’t help it. He was running down the street, hurtling towards Angel’s apartment building and then flying up the stairs. Finally, he reached the door and he pounded on it hard. 

It took over a minute but finally, Angel pulled it open. 

He was wearing the same pajamas he’d been wearing the first time Aki fucked him. That seemed very full circle. 

“What are you—”

“I’m in love with you,” Aki interrupted. 

Angel’s eyes widened and he dropped the door. Aki pushed him back and went inside, closing it behind him. 

Angel opened his mouth to talk again, but Aki didn’t let him. 

“You are literally the most frustrating person I’ve ever met in my life,” he said. “You don’t care about anything, except me, I guess, which is crazy. And you’re so lazy. It’s impossible to get you to do work. You’re an unbelievable brat. And you’re bossy as hell sometimes. You make me so mad that sometimes I want to kill you, and I am in love with you. I am stupidly in love with you for reasons I do not understand, except I kind of do because you’re also weirdly sweet when you want to be and you smell nice and I sleep better when you’re in bed with me than I ever do otherwise.”

Angel just stared at him the entire time Aki delivered his speech. When he finished, Aki was panting, partially from talking so fast and partially from running all the way there. 

Then Angel said, “That was a really mean way to tell someone you love them.”

Aki felt his cheeks grow warm. “Yeah, but it’s true.”

Angel nodded. “That’s okay. You make me really mad sometimes too.”

“What? Why?” Aki sputtered. 

“You’re bad at your feelings. And you get way too caught up in your own head. And it was really mean of you to get me thrown off our project like that. Now I’m going to fail physics,” he said calmly. 

Aki winced. “I am a bit sorry about that.”

“You should be.”

“And I’m sorry about that other stuff too. About dumping you like that. It was not my finest moment,” Aki said after a pause. 

Angel said nothing for a few moments. Then he said, “I’m not going to apologize for being a brat. You like it."

“Yes, I do,” Aki admitted for once. 

“Also, I love you too.”

Aki froze. “You do?”

“I think so. I’ve never been in love before, but I assume that’s what this is.” Angel shrugged. 

Aki stared at him. “That was a really lame way to tell someone you love them.”

Angel laughed. It was that real laugh that he very rarely did. The one that Aki loved. 

“Maybe…” Aki started. “Maybe we could just try being normal.”

“Normal? How?”

“Like maybe I could take you to dinner sometime. Like a date.”

Angel raised an eyebrow at him. “We’re going to go on a first date like I haven’t literally called you daddy?”

Aki’s cheeks flushed again, but he batted down his embarrassment to say, “Angel, stop being a brat and let me ask you on a date.”

“Fine.” Angel pouted a bit. “Ask me on a date.”

“I just did.”

“Ask better.”

“Angel,” Aki said after an exasperated sigh, stepping forward and taking one of Angel’s hands, “would you go out with me?”

Angel’s lips quirked up into a smile. “I thought you’d never ask.”

***

Angel failed physics, but Aki got an A. 

“You’re such a jerk. Now I’ll have to retake the class,” Angel complained, sitting on Aki’s couch with his legs extended out onto Aki’s lap. 

“Why were you taking it anyway? You’re not a physics major.” Aki tucked a stray piece of Angel’s hair behind his ear. 

Angel shrugged. “I need it for my engineering major.”

“You’re an engineering major?” Aki asked, feeling a bit shocked. 

Angel stared at him. “Have we seriously never had this conversation? You didn’t even know what my major was?”

“I don’t even know your last name,” Aki replied awkwardly. 

Surprisingly, Angel smiled. He leaned forward and captured Aki’s lips in a soft kiss. When he pulled away, he said, “Well, I guess we have a lot to learn about each other.”

They did, Aki figured. And maybe that was a good thing. Maybe that was something to look forward to. Maybe that was really what it was all about.