Pray for the Wicked | ATEEZ

07.

I hadn't expected Hongjoong to follow through as quickly as he did, if even at all, but as night fell, or rather darkened, he snuck back into his bedroom with his arms full of dark fabric, checking over his shoulder as if to make sure that he had gone unseen, before kicking the door shut.

"We're not angels, but I still can't guarantee that walking out there clad in white and with your eyes on display for everyone to see won't get us in trouble," he said, unfolding the layers of textile in his hands and letting them fall to the floor, revealing a cape.

"My eyes?" I frowned, but I quickly realized that he was right. His own were darker than the night itself, weaved from the darkest colours of midnight, while mine were a stark contrast to everything Odeion was made of.

"I mean, they're beautiful," he quickly added, "They're just not very.. Hell-like? They could be dangerous."

"And I thought you said that angels were the evil ones," I mumbled, the compliment going completely unnoticed as I swung the cloak across my shoulders and pulled the hood over my head, the shadow from the thick fabric hiding my features.

He seemed either unwilling or unable to come up with a response for that.

"You said you were going to help us," Hongjoong said instead. I looked at him then, truly looked at him as cold tendons of guilt wrapped themselves around my heart, choking me. I had lied.

"I might not like you very much, but all I want is to save Odeion. Hell is dying, suffocating, in the lack of light. Your kind is not very well-liked here, but that doesn't mean that all of you have bad intentions. That doesn't mean that you have bad intentions. I'm willing to acknowledge that and, because of that, I'll make sure that no harm will come to you. You have my word."

"And here I thought you weren't eager to trust me," I said, lowering my head a little as the pit of guilt within me grew, biting my lip. He had held up on his part of the deal and here I was, still planning on double-crossing him.

"I don't trust you," the son of Lilith said flatly, the statement making me feel slightly better as I remembered that, no matter what happened, he was still my opposite. No matter what, he would have to despise me in the end. "Not at all."

"I'm happy to hear that," I hummed, plastering a smile on my face in the hopes that he wouldn't be able to see right through it.

"Should we get going, then?" I asked, making an expectant gesture with my hand as I reached for my ring which was still hanging from the chain around his neck, silver and bright against the very darkness he was made of.

"I had already gathered that you were naive, angel, but not downright stupid," Hongjoong chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest with a humored look on his face as he smirked at me, then grabbed the necklace, wrapping his fingers around the ring.

"By all means, feel free to fly in there with those wings of yours. I'm sure they won't see you, it's dark after all. You probably won't light up like a falling star when soaring across the sky. Good thing you have the cloak to cover your eyes-"

"I don't know what your problem is, but I'm guessing it's hard to pronounce," I growled, cutting him off and feeling my cheeks heat up as I realized that he was right, "What do you expect me to do, then? Hold on tight and hope that you won't drop me into the ocean while carrying me?"

"Yes," Hongjoong frowned, "What? You don't trust me?" he asked, his voice taking on a tone of mockery as he mimicked my own words.

"I don't want you touching me is all," I huffed, clenching my fists as I felt the guilt disappear and grow into the familiar feeling of annoyance that always seemed to resurface whenever the two of us were alone.