"She conquered her demons and wore her scars like wings."

Yoongi's POV

"Faye can't know about this." I fumbled with my zipper and my belt, breathing ragged and uneven.

"Why?" Jimin asked, his chiseled angelic face illuminated by the streetlights coming through the car window. "Are you afraid of her?"

"As a matter of fact I am, but that's a whole other subject and we don't have the time to get into it," I grumbled darkly, reaching down and grabbing his white sateen shirt from the floor. "Here."

"Thanks." he said as he took it from me. While doing so, our fingers brushed against each other and I felt a tingling sensation in my stomach. I squirmed, trying to suffocate it.

I wasn't bothered by the fact that Jimin was a man, or at least had assumed a male form in this decade. Attraction is attraction, it transcends the human body. It's an exchange of energy in its purest form. The problem was that I had always been so adamant about wanting nothing to do with Heaven and its stupid angels. They disgusted me, with their stupid shiny wings and virtuousness.

But this one angel... he was special.

Also Faye would probably never let it go and tease me as long as we both exist. Which let's be honest, is a damn long time.

"I'm kinda worried for her," Jimin admitted, adjusting his shirt over his chest.

"Yeah, why is that?" I murmured.

"She's going through a change," he said. "Seems like a drastic one. This Taehyung guy was put in her path for a reason, but I just can't fathom what it is. She needs to figure it out on her own."

"What she needs to do is to go back home," I growled angrily. "Spending her time in Hell will make her go back to her old self."

"I don't think that's possible anymore." Jimin pressed his lips into a thin line.

"I can make it possible."

"Will you..." Jimin started. "I mean, if she does go back, will you go back with her?"

I tensed. "I have to."

"But if you do, you and I-" he looked worried all of a sudden, stopping himself from finishing his sentence.

I took a deep breath, wanting to avoid the subject. "Um... anyway, I want the old Faye back. She was fun."

"You love the old Faye because she was ruthless and savage. But this isn't who she truly is, it's a defensive mechanism for when she feels insecure. She's actually very sensitive."

"Wow, thank you Dr. Freud." I mocked.

The car fell silent. "Same time tomorrow?" Jimin asked, a coy smile to his lips.

"Yeah." I mumbled as his sapphire blue orbs landed on mine. For a moment there I almost drowned in them.

"Okay." he nodded, pulling the door handle and readying himself to exit the car.

"Wait a second," I gripped on his upper arm, my forehead screwing with a frown. "Don't I get a kiss?"

"Didn't you get enough kisses already?" he smirked.

"Shut up, you angelic smartass." I said as I pulled him back into me, slamming my lips into his and moaning as I relished in how sweet they tasted.

Fuck, I'm hard again.

***

I took the stairs up to Faye's place in one breath. I hadn't checked up on her today. It had become a habit of mine over the millennia to look after her, even though she handled herself pretty well. I admit sometimes I can be a little bit overprotective of her, but I am her servant after all. I live to serve her. Despite what she might think sometimes, I have her best interest at heart. I torture her from time to time just for the fun of it.

And quite frankly... I'd never tell her this, but she is my best friend and I love her.

I was feeling rather relaxed that day so I decided I'd go in through the front door using the key like a normal person, and not just pass through the wall and creep her out like I liked to do.

I twisted the doorknob and stepped in. The apartment was sunk in darkness.

"Faye?" I called out but she didn't answer.

I ventured in, seeing a small glimpse of light penetrate from the living room as the door was left slightly ajar. I followed it, furrowing my brows in confusion. It wasn't like Faye not to answer when I called out to her.

I pushed the door, easing it open. And then I saw her, slumped in one of the arm chairs. She was facing the wall, offering me a view of her side profile. Her shoulders drooped as if she carried the weight of the world on them. Her hair was messy and damp as if she had just stepped out of the shower. She was white as chalk, skin gaunt and dry. There was some glass shattered on the floor.

I took some more steps towards her. I knew she was aware of my presence now, no way she wouldn't be. But she didn't react in any way, instead she kept staring straight at the wall blindly.

For the first time ever I experienced having chills. She looked almost... human.

"What's happened to you?" I scrunched my nose, letting my eyes fully examine her form. "You're wearing sweatpants. You never wear sweatpants."

She raised her gaze very slowly as if it took her tremendous physical effort to do so. She fixated me with bloodshot eyes.

"Last night I bled."

I gawked at her.

"You got your period?"

She scoffed. "No you dumbass. I cut myself." She raised one hand next to her face to show me the bandage.

Faye looked as if the fire in her eyes had been dowsed with cold water. I wasn't used to seeing her like this. It was worrisome.

"Okay, but why the bandage?" I asked. "You're supposed to heal immediately."

She rolled her eyes and huffed.

"Yeah, I'm aware of that."

"So?"

"So," she mimicked. "I didn't."

"What do you mean you didn't?" I was completely thrown off.

"I meant that I didn't heal, Yoongi," she explained, voice almost frantic as her widened eyes surveyed mine. "I still have a fucking wound on my hand."

I placed a hand over my forehead, pushing my hair back. As a celestial being, Faye was invulnerable to human weapons and damage.

"Something's going on." she uttered. It was evident on her face how scared she was even though she'd never admit to it.

And seeing Faye scared fucking freaked me out.

"And see this." she raised a finger close to her face. Then she stood up, but not with the usual graceful and fluid motions she moved in. She stood up as if her body was in pain, like an old lady, hissing when she inadvertently applied pressure to her injured hand.

She shuffled over to the cabinet and pulled out a whiskey glass. The trembling of her fingers didn't go by unnoticed by me. She glanced over back at me briefly before dropping the glass.

It fell down on the floor where it crashed.

Faye swung her hand to catch it but she was a couple of nanoseconds too slow.

That explains the shattered glass on the floor.

I gave a horrified gasp, my head reeling back from the shock.

Faye Starlighter is never slow. She's extremely agile, possesses superhuman speed and reflexes and can catch daggers flying towards her. I know that because that's one of the ways we'd pass the time when we were bored in Hell; I'd throw them at her and she'd stop them. It was our little game we liked to play.

"See?" her voice cracked as her chin trembled. "Something's wrong."

"What..." I croaked, trying to gather my thoughts. "What the hell is happening?"

"I don't know." she let out the most haunting sound I had ever heard. A whimper.

"It's that freaking mortal!" I burst out, balling my hands into fists. "He's making you weak! I'm going to kill him! I'm going to fucking demolish him!"

"No!" she rushed over to me, gripping at my arms. "No, Yoongi, you're not going to do any harm to Taehyung!" she pled. Instead of her usual authoritative tone, it sounded like she was begging. "I forbid you from laying a finger on him!"

"Aaargh!" I roared, whipping around and slamming my fist at the wall where it left a hole.

"Stop!" Faye screamed behind my back. "I command you to stop!"

"You never bleed, Faye!" I spat out. "Tell me what's happening, explain it to me!"

"I don't know, okay?!" she wailed, her eyes welling up with tears as her human form emitted pure powerlessness. "I have no fucking idea what's happening to me, Yoongi!"

My chest heaved with my unreleased rage. I got a grip of myself, the devastated look on her face pulling me back to reality. I panicked, fearing she'd slip into a nervous breakdown like she did the other day.

"You know," I whispered. "I have a guess who might be responsible for this."

"It's not Taehyung," she shook her head, thinning her lips into a line. "It can't – it can't be."

"I'm not talking about him." I deadpanned.

Her lips parted, forming a small 'o'.

"You think-"

"It's the prophecy, Faye," I forced out, my voice breathy and unsteady. "We can't outrun it."

She blinked rapidly several times, a glossy layer over her reddened eyes.

"Jin."

"It all ties up," I whispered. "He comes back to town and you suddenly grow weaker. It can't be a coincidence."

"You think the prophecy is coming true."

I gave a curt nod. The prophecy was a prediction made by a Vatican priest back in the 1950s when I and Faye roamed the streets of Italy. He was a religious man, but knew far more than what orthodox religion offers you. When he met her he instantly recognized her. Contrary to other men who have seen her true face, he wasn't terrified. He simply talked with her. And told her about a prophecy he had received in his sleep. It says that...

"When the child of Lucifer walks the Earth and finds her first true love..." Faye started in a shaky voice.

"...the whole world will be turned on its head." I finished for her.

"But we never thought..." she trailed off. I knew what she was going to say. We never took it seriously and instead laughed at it. After all it was all gibberish spat out by some old demented fanatic.

"It all makes sense."

"To me it doesn't," she protested, her shoulders slumping. "I met Jin a long time ago. Why didn't the prophecy come true back then?"

"I don't know." I shook my head.

Troubled, she turned her back to me and hid her face in her hands.

"Maybe we should try and ask your father." I uttered hesitantly.

Faye threw her head back and I heard her scoff.

"You know the selfish bastard doesn't talk to me."

There was pain lingering in her tone as she spoke. And at this moment I knew. Jimin was right. Underneath all the layers she had covered herself with Faye was fragile and insecure. She could criticize her father all she wanted, get annoyed when someone mentioned him and lash out when she wanted to communicate with him, but deep down, she was deeply hurt by him.

In all my eons of existence, I had heard her talk about him frankly only once or twice. And the truth was, she craved his attention and approval desperately.

Faye was aching because she never felt like her father believed in her. He never once praised her or told her he was proud of her. Deep down she admired him so much but he never said 'I love you'. She was expected to continue the legacy of a parent who she received nothing but distant coldness from. And it crippled her, making her break up with Jin all the way more devastating. She received nothing but pain from the men in her life. It was then that she put up that wall around herself. Faye wasn't always like this.

"Take your shirt off." I said suddenly, causing her to gasp and then frown.

"Wow. This is really inappropriate even for you." She scolded sternly.

"It's not that," I said through gritted teeth, impatient to see if the guess brewing in my mind was true. "Just do it."

Faye observed me with suspicion in her eyes before she turned around.

She reached down for the hem of her shirt and slowly slid the clothing upwards, pulling it over her head. Her dark red curls tumbled down her shoulders, cascading down her back like red silk. The dimmed light bounced off her soft skin, enhancing her sensual curves. There was something incredibly captivating about her form and there was no wonder why so many men were so mesmerized by her even before she cast her aura on them. However I didn't regard her with lust or passion as a sexual target, but rather I appreciated the raw beauty she held.

"What is it?" her breathy voice tumbled out.

"I want to check something." I mumbled, taking a step towards her. Her luminous red hair stretched a little above her waist. I reached a hand and pushed it to the side to reveal her back.

I gasped. Where Faye's immense angelic wings used to be, there were two long symmetrical scars on each side of her backbone, as if her wings had been severed with a knife.

"What?" she asked again, slightly panicking.

I pressed my fingertips gently against the marks.

"Faye, it's your wings. They're- they're gone."

author's note:

Thank you everyone for reading 🥰
I really appreciate every read, vote and comment!! Writing this story has been so fun and I'm glad you're enjoying it!!

Double update today because I feel like this chapter was kinda meh even though it revealed some important plot points but I just can't wait until we get to the more exciting stuff  💕