A/N: Genderswap, crushswap, AND Angels & Demons AU. Send help plz. Crossposted on AO3 under the same username.

The heavenly blade hovers over the pad of her fingertip, trembling in Adrienne's unsteady hands. Her feathery wings hug her shoulders in a protective instinct. Months of illicit research and preparation have gone into this moment. All her stolen visits to the archives, the lies allowing her to collect the necessary materials, they only granted her glimpses into the darkness. but nothing could have prepared her for this.

They provided brief rushes of rebellion, paling in comparison to the momentous leap into the void that the summoning circle before her presents. On the cusp of being activated, the ceremonial sigil emanates a hungry energy. Adrienne can sense it, luring her in to be eaten up and spat out.

There's no going back from this.

Despite her limited knowledge of demons, she remains painfully aware of the permanence of a deal with one.

I have no other choice…

Her wings are the stunted and incapable of flight—a vestige of her half human parentage. With Archangel Gabriela as her mother, no one would possibly help her escape. To do so would risk the wrath of one of the most powerful angels in the overworld.

No, the only way she can escape her home— her prison—is with the assistance of a demon.

Is my soul worth it?

The only wisdom the heavenly host deigned to teach her about demonic contracts: don't make them. Naturally, one would assume the worst. The rational part of her recognizes the foolishness of a deal that would forfeit any chance at future happiness. But at the same time her emotions scream at her: could eternal damnation really feel any worse than this?

Empty white walls surround her, pressing in at all sides. How long is it, that she's waited here, like a caged canary? There is no sense of time passing. It could be minutes, or hours, that Adrienne kneels on the precipice, isolated, and increasingly claustrophobic. Adrienne's breathing escalates. Her heartrate is uncomfortably fast as she swallows her panic, resolve steeling.

I'll do anything if it means getting out of here.

Her arm is drawn towards the gravity of the dark sigil. Holding her breath and clenching her eyes shut, she forces the tip of the dagger into her skin. A drop of blood falls silently into the center of the circle.

For a moment, nothing happens. Helplessness seizes her as her last resort seems to fizzle out. Eyes wide with desperation, she fervently searches for any sign of a result. Adrienne holds the knife back up to her hand, prepared to sacrifice more as she notices the fallen drop of blood begins to spread across the charcoal lines of the sigil.

Sulfur assaults her nostrils as smokes rises from the circle where her blood meets the symbol. It thickens, sets her coughing and her eyes watering.

Squinting her eyes open as the smoke clears, her vision falls on a looming figure. The first thing her adrenaline filled mind registers is black. Raven hair, stark against pale skin and the background of her room. Where the whiteness of the eye should be is pitch-black scleras, punctuated with blood red irises. Garbed in a formal cheongsam and pants, he is robed in shadows broken up only in the intricate, scarlet embroidery adorning his tunic.

He's every inch a demon. However, unlike her imaginings, the creature is composed. Far from a rampaging monster, he stands calmly within the boundary observing his new surroundings before those piercing eyes fall on her. Their surprise is mirrored as absorb the situation.

"An angel…" he remarks, voice deep and incredulous. "Why have you summoned me?" Her rehearsed lines, carefully crafted to maintain some semblance of control in this conversation, are forgotten in the heat of his gaze. Instead, a blathering of desperation escapes.

"Get me out. I need to—no matter the cost—get away from here. I wouldn't have called you here if it weren't my only option, I…please, help me!" Adrienne is still on her knees, her hands gesticulating frantically as she pleads.

I'm pathetic. How am I supposed to negotiate if he knows how desperate I am?

Instead of pouncing on her insecurity right away, the demon hesitates, puzzling on her words. "You're trying to get out of heaven? I was under the impression it's easy to get kicked out. Especially for those willing to deal with demons."

"Not when your mother is Archangel," she contradicts, emboldened at the implication of her incompetence. "Sinning would only anger her. She'd find a way to punish me here, anything to keep me under her thumb," He tilts his head speculatively.

"So…you need me to break you out. And, presumably, keep you from being taken back," he pauses, moving on once Adrienne nods confirmation. "Are you really alright with being anywhere but here? The mortal world, or even Hell?" The demon observes her closely, coaxing more answers from her.

Adrienne stares at her hands now in her lap. She'd been so focused on escaping she hadn't dared to dream where she'd like to end up.

The place that could make me happy…

Her fists clench at the fabric of her white dress. It had been so long ago, possibly decades, but the memories shine through her mind as containing the only joy her miserable life had known.

Decidedly, Adrienne raises her eyes up to meet the demon's. "I want to find my father. The only place I want to be is with him."

"Is he alive or dead?"

"I don't know. He isn't in heaven—if he were here, I would know. But even if he's—" she swallows, the unpleasant possibility roiling in her stomach, "Even if he's in Hell, I want to find him."

"That's what you want?" he affirms, eyebrows furrowed.

"Yes," she asserts, determined now in her goals.

"Then the question is," the demon taps a clawed finger on the corner of his mouth, "what do I want?" Her confidence wavers.

Of course… the catch. He might be accommodating now…but the second my back is turned he'll try to take everything from me.

The focused detachment he appraises her with causes her jaw to tense.

Abruptly, his arm reaches out to her, only for his hand to sizzle and recoil when hitting the boundary creating by the summoning circle. He hisses, shaking his head as if pulling himself out of a daze.

"I've decided. What I want from you is…your wings."

"My…my wings?" she sucks in a breath, at once relieved and repulsed, unconsciously drawing her hands up to lightly stroke the feathers. "What do you want with them?"

"They're beautiful…and rare. It's essentially unheard of to find an unfallen angel willing to part with them. The feathers are light but strong, perfect for adorning armor," he enthuses passionately, "It would be a waste to use them on just one thing though…maybe just on the shoulders?" Adrienne gets the feeling of being forgotten entirely as he plans aloud. "Hm…a headdress…or a hat? Both?"

"You want to use my wings for…a…a fashion project?" she asks, aghast.

His eyes narrow, tone going from excited to defensive instantly, "Do you have a problem with that? It's not like your wings are much use to you anyway…it doesn't look like you can fly." The demon scoffs, "I should have known an angel wouldn't understand—"

"I'll do it," she interrupts. "It's a deal."

"Not yet," he corrects, "Hand me the knife." Reluctantly, she does so, taking care that her fingers don't cross the boundary. Grasping the handle firmly, he cuts a gash in his palm, without so much as flinching. "I, Crimson Beetle, agree to keep…"

"Adrienne."

"Agree to keep Adrienne out of heaven and lead her to her father. In return, she will give me her wings." Crimson Beetle holds out the knife back to her, watching carefully as she repeats his action.

"I, Adrienne, agree to…to give Crimson Beetle my wings. In return, he will keep me out of heaven and lead me to my father."

This is it. The point of no return.

The demon holds out his bloodied palm. Gradually, she raises her own to meet him. Their fingers entangle as their blood combines, emitting an almost uncomfortable warmth. A flash of red light escapes the space between their fingers.

"The deal is made. Say goodbye to your home," he states with finality. Using their still joined hands, he pulls her fully past the boundary into the circle.

"This isn't my home," she manages to whisper into his chest as a cacophony of magic envelopes them.

When Adrienne opens her eyes, she's prone, looking up at stars. Grass tickles the back of her neck. This must be the mortal world.

Moonlight…wildflowers…I've missed them so much…

Heaven keeps strict sanctions on beauties allowed in its dimensions. Gabriela, even stricter. To an overprotective mother, even the night sky could pose temptations to her precious daughter. Adrienne's half-human composition made her extraordinarily vulnerable to corruption in her mother's eyes. Anything dark, anything wild, had been hidden from her. The overworld prefers polished marble and gilded vases to the anything from the natural world.

Turning on her side, she takes a deep breath of the flowers cushioning her head. Her fingers press into the soil, drawing up the smell of petrichor. Tears prick at the edges of her vision as she takes in the clear sky. The white walls of her prison had been so empty, so sterile. The density of the stars amazes her. Everywhere she turns is a richness of sights, unfettered, uncensored.

I can breathe again!

An elated laugh bubbles out of her. Adrienne splays her arms out on the undergrowth, more comfortable than she'd ever felt on a feather bed.

The snap of a twig interrupts her ease. The noise abruptly reminds her: you're not alone. It may have been reassuring in other circumstances, after all, she was so sick of being alone, but…

She sits up, peering about the meadow. There's just enough moonlight to illuminate the demon accompanying her several yards away.

Crimson sits cross-legged, rubbing his temple with the heel of his hand. He appears disoriented, disheveled. When he assesses their environment, he curses, "Shit. It took more power than I anticipated to break through heaven's wards. We were supposed to teleport to a friend's house, this is…obviously not there. Somewhere in the French countryside, I think. It'll be awhile before I can try teleporting again."

"Could we…walk to this friend's house?" she offers timidly.

"Not looking like this." At her look of confusion, he gestures to his horns and her wings, eyebrows raised.

"Eh, right. Of course," she flushes slightly from embarrassment. It was so easy to forget that most of the mortal world was ignorant of its neighboring dimensions.

"Normally, it wouldn't be a problem. I could conjure a glamour for us both effortlessly…but all my power went into escaping heaven. We'll need to camp here until I recover."

"Oh." The blonde shifts apprehensively, pulling her knees to her chest. The lack of a warding boundary between them was felt deeply by her.

There's nothing stopping him from walking over here and ripping my wings off, is there?

While she resented the oppressiveness of the overworld, it did act as a sort of safety blanket that had been ripped off. At any point during their deal, if she'd have but shouted, a sentinel would've come to her rescue. Physical rescue, at least. Here, in the middleworld, there was no such guarantee. Adrienne is alone here. Alone…with a demon. A shiver runs up her spine.

"Do you know how to build a fire?" Crimson's question takes her off-guard and she jolts to attention.

"I don't," she admits. There were many abilities her mother "encouraged" her to learn, but there was no need for such a primitive skill in heaven where everything had its own light. "Do we need one?"

"You look cold." Adrienne's hands rub her upper arms with the realization that she was, indeed, chilly. It is surreal for her to experience any temperature besides heaven's consistent twenty-two point seven degrees Celsius. Her feet are bare, and her sleeveless dress is ill-suited for the frigid wind.

How odd that he notices before I do. Is it a habit of his, discovering even the subtlest of weaknesses?

"I'll collect the kindling. Stay here," he orders, leaving for the woods without waiting for a response.

The crunch of his shoes in the undergrowth soon disappears beyond her range of hearing. Ears on alert, she notices how many creatures are rustling in the trees. The hoot of an owl startles her, bringing her to her feet.

I'm exposed without him.

The realization is alarming. Gabriela might know she's gone by now…might have even sent sentinels. If she gets caught now, would Crimson be able to break her out again? It seems unlikely she'd get the chance to summon him a second time. Unsummoned, a demon entering the overworld would be an act of war. Not to mention, it's nearly impossible without immense power. Essentially…there would be no second chance if she's captured.

Not safe with him, not safe without him.

Looking around the moonlit meadow, her feet are taking her in the direction she saw him leave before she can start weighing the risks. Squinting, she can barely make out his footprints. The trees block out the moonlight and her vision becomes even dimmer. Senses fumbling, the demon notices her before she does him.

"What are you doing here? I thought I told you to stay put." Relief fills her, followed by indignity for trailing him like a lost puppy.

"I…wanted to learn. How to make a fire, I mean. Will you show me?"

"…Alright," he complies, the lie slipping undetected. The steps are simple, and Adrienne arranges the logs and sticks as instructed. The spark is more challenging. After she struggles with it for a minute, Crimson bypasses flint entirely, breathing a small flame into the kindling.

The fire is soothing. It doesn't take long that Adrienne grows fatigued while staring into the flickering flames. Sufficiently warm and exhausted, her eyelids begin to droop.

"You should sleep. I'll keep watch," he volunteers. The last thing she sees before drifting off is the light of the embers reflecting in his blood red eyes.

Thank you. Even if you're only doing it to steal my wings. Thank you for freeing me.