An Angel's Heart

Last Act of Defiance

Pha stood staring at Yo, his heart and mind both trembling from recent revelations. Yo was really an angel, an actual angel from Heaven. There were demons and devils and all that meant that Heaven was real. It was a lot to take in but after all he'd seen he couldn't deny it.

Pha looked over at Yo in wonder, how had he been lucky enough to find a real angel? Yo, the man he loved, who made him feel special. The man who cooked for everybody and made everybody feel welcome and loved. Yo, who shared secret smiles with only him and let Pha touch him and kiss him and hold his hand. Yo, who had told him that his angel's heart could only ever be broken by Pha because he'd given that heart to Pha.

Pha was standing with Yo, holding his hand as Yo watched his human friends being told a story to replace their memories of tonight. Pha smiled as he turned his head to see everything else that had happened.

A devil named Park was being arrested, some other demons seemed to be being taken prisoner by angels he'd never seen before, who kept appearing and disappearing when called by some of Yo's friends. And Mau was standing on top of Pha's car, grooming herself. He didn't know how it was possible for a cat, but she sat there as though she were single-handedly responsible for saving the day. She looked ... smug.

That turned Pha's attention to Pring. The demon princess stared back with hatred in her eyes. Pring had never lost to anyone. Never been unable to complete her assignment and never chosen a human to play with and lost him. It didn't happen. It couldn't happen. A demon princess wasn't an amazing warrior or an evil genius, she was made to do one thing, but she did that thing perfectly. She was made to seduce humans.

Pring gritted her teeth as she watched that horrible little angel smile and hold Pha's hand. How could it be possible that Pha could turn away from such a powerful enchantment and choose to be with that sweet, innocent boy? She might have understood if Pha was exclusively attracted to boys, but even then it should have been nearly impossible for him to break free. But Pha was not only into boys, in fact, this was the first boy she'd ever seen him with. Pha dated girls too. So her power should have held him helpless to her.

The more she thought about it the angrier she got and the angrier she got the more her eyes were drawn to Yo. It was his fault. He had been the one to come between her and Pha. He had been the one to somehow break her connection to Pha. His fault. Then she realized something, there were angels everywhere. Changing memories, imprisoning demons, discussing Park. But none of those angels were paying any attention to her.

True, she was the least likely to cause problems. She was a demon princess after all. She wasn't meant to get her hands dirty with weapons or fighting. But she would get her hands dirty if it was necessary. She pulled a knife from her boot. It was just a small dagger, but it had a special poison called weeping love, that was just perfect for hurting angels.

If Pha loved Yo, it would corrupt that love. When Pha looked at Yo after he was stabbed, he wouldn't see the man he loved or an angel, he would begin to see a stranger. Their bond would be stretched thin by a feeling of unhappiness. A vague feeling that something was wrong. Pha wouldn't know what it was.

Pha would feel more and more pressured and limited by his relationship with Yo. Eventually, Pha would leave Yo or seek out a quiet alternative for his desires. Weeping love would corrupt Pha's love until he was willing to cheat on Yo and he wouldn't even feel bad about it. In his mind, Yo would be a burden that he had to bear but never someone to be cherished.

Park had given her the dagger, but of course, she'd never thought to use it. Why would she need to stab anyone? But here she was, her face covered in scratches from that wicked cat and weak from her encounter with Heaven's power.

Moving quickly, Pring grabbed the dagger and lunged forward, aiming for Yo's heart. Perhaps if Pha hadn't been looking at her, she might have been able to hit her mark, but Pha was looking. He was a human, slower and less powerful, but he did the one thing he could do, he stood in front of Yo at the last moment as the dagger should have reached Yo, it sunk instead into Pha.

This was Pring's last act of defiance, as Arthit immediately cut off her head and she burst into flames and quickly turned to a pile of ash. She wasn't dead, as a demon princess her ashes would return to her master and be given a new form. But it would be centuries before she could leave the relative safety of Hell again.

"Pha! No!" Yo called out, catching Pha's body as he fell backward into Yo's arms. The dagger protruded from his chest, and blood poured from the wound. Arthit came over to remove the dagger and put pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding but Yo couldn't even think to do anything.

He could hear every angel moving around him, shouts for help and someone trying to get his attention, but all of his focus was on Pha.

"The blade was coated with weeping love," Arthit's words came to Yo slowly. "It's a good thing she didn't stab you, it only poisons angels. It will just make Pha feel sick."

Calling on his Father, Yo reached for his healing powers, which all angels possess to some degree but cannot share with a mortal without their Father's blessing. He focused his power on Pha.

"I think it's enough, Yo," Arthit said, then called for Kongpob. "Kong, let's get him to the hospital. The others can finish up here."

************

"Don't cry, Yo," Pha said, reaching up to cup Yo's cheeks. "Smile for me, I protected your heart. Just like you said."

"That isn't meant literally," Yo said, trying to smile down at Pha as he laid in the hospital bed.

"But I did," Pha said. "Aren't you going to give me a reward?"

Yo rolled his eyes, giggling a little at Pha's attitude. The damage from the blade hadn't been significant and it was laced with some kind of poison. Luckily, Yo's healing powers had burned out the poison and healed most of the wound until it looked like Pha had received nothing more serious than a deep cut that needed some stitches. It had been difficult to think of an excuse for the placement of this particular cut, but luckily no one had pushed too hard for an explanation.

Now they were alone in Pha's hospital room, where Pha was supposed to be resting but pulled Yo until he was laying in the small bed next to his love.

"Yo," Pha whined when Yo wasn't giving in to his request. "Didn't I save your life? Shouldn't you grant my wish?"

"I'm an angel, not a genie," Yo said as he tried to still the hands that kept trying to touch more of him. He wanted that touch, of course, and planned to give in to his needy boyfriend soon, but Arthit would be back any minute. "I promise to give you a reward, but not when my brother is coming back."

Pha celebrated the small victory in his head, and pulled Yo more firmly to his side, loving the way it felt to hold his angel. Now that he'd had to face the thought of losing him, he didn't want Yo to ever go away. He would cherish every moment with the man he loved, even if Yo's brother was a scary warrior from Heaven.

"I love you, Yo," Pha said, kissing the top of his angel's head.

"I love you too," Yo snuggled closer to Pha and thanked his Father for this crazy mission that had somehow ended with the sweetest angel in the Heavens finding the perfect love for him. "Now rest so your body can heal."

Pha hummed his agreement and settled down to rest with Yo still in his arms.

Author's Note: The picture for this chapter is one I found on Pinterest and modified with a blue flame pattern that I found online. This is what I'm imagining for Yo's angelic powers.