Demonic Influence (I hate my co-workers)

Don't Freeze

Fred, for what it was worth, didn't really seem that upset about seeing Eddy out in public and walking around. "Hey, man, you feeling any better?" He looked Eddy up and down in a concerned kind of way, possibly looking for shaking.

"Yeah, yeah, I recovered sometime mid-yesterday, and, um, Brett suggested we go out for drinks to celebrate."

"But not the alcoholic kind," Fred confirmed, looking confused and passing them their coffee.

Eddy let out a tittering laugh as he accepted it. "Well, I personally believe that caffeine is the most underrated addictive."

Fred nodded in response to this, looking satisfied. "Ah, yes." Then, he glanced to the left of Eddy. "I don't believe Brett and I have met. He doesn't work with us, does he?"

Eddy shook his head. "No, but I tell him about the office all the time."

Fred nodded, looking almost impressed. "And how long have you two been together? I don't recall you ever bringing him to any office functions, or introducing him to the rest of our team."

"Oh." Eddy wouldn't even look at Brett. "He's really not the biggest fan of meeting new people, so..." he let Fred draw his own conclusions, feeling as though that would be the safer option.

"And what's this handsome young man's name?" Fred smiled politely at Brett, and Eddy had to physically resist himself from yanking the angel behind him.

"Brett, my name is Brett." Brett have him what he hoped would appear as an easygoing smile, but something told him it looked more forced than anything else. "It's nice to meet you Fred." He yanked his hand from Eddy's and held it out to shake.

Fred shook his hand. "I swear... I must have seen you somewhere before, you seem oddly familiar..." He gave Brett yet another once over, biting his lip. "Maybe you come to bingo nights at the old folks home too?"

"No, I don't think that I do," Brett squeaked out.

"Hmm. or maybe I saw you working a cashier at the supermarket. Where do you work?" Fred demanded, clearly not grasping the blatant distaste every party involved except for him had for this conversation.

"Um." Brett's mind went blank. Oh, this was just great, this was exactly what he had been trying to achieve via his daily meditation. Or, it would be great, if he didn't need to lie on the spot to this incredibly dangerous being about how he earned an income.

Eddy, Brett knew he could take in a fight. Eddy's boss? Now that, he was a little less sure about. From what he could tell, Fred was a pretty high ranking demon, and besides, this was not how he expected this outing to go! He would have brought some holy water, maybe a cross, if he knew he would encounter a potentially hostile demon.

"Well, I used to work as a janitor..." he started awkwardly, ready to bullshit his way out of the situation. The longer I keep talking, the more time I have to think up a brilliant excuse to leave this conversation.

Fred stopped all of that with a snap of his fingers. "I've got it!" Brett and Eddy both looked at him. "You're one of those minor angels, aren't you? I knew I recognized you from somewhere work related! You were that guy that had to stick around to clean up after Michael had that board meeting with some higher ranked demons, or at least tried to." Fred grimaced. "There were just guts everywhere. I still don't know how you managed to clean all that up." He turned to Eddy, grinning. "You remember that, right? It was sometime in the middle of the archangel's era of 'cooperation.' And when I say there were guts everywhere, I mean everywhere."

Brett and Eddy very subtly exchanged glances. Neither of them said anything.

Fred bit his lip. "Or am I wrong? Cause if I am, this just became a very awkward conversation, and I would like to preface my very lengthy explanation and apology with saying that I am completely and utterly-"

"You don't care that he's an angel?" Eddy's tone was defensive now, matching his body language.

"Oh no, I'm furious, and also a little bit concerned, if I'm being honest. This breaks every unspoken law we have, as well as clashes heavily with that healthy over the top sense of self preservation that you usually seem to possess, Eddy. What happened to you? Did he force you into this relationship? Blink twice if you felt forced into this relationship."

Brett frowned. This must be the strangest conversation he had ever been a part of.

"Dude, no! I- seriously, he's nice. I'm fine. He can be a little strange sometimes, but honestly, he's not the monster we've been told that people like him are."

"Oh, that's a relief." Fred nodded. Then, his brow furrowed again. "No one in hell will be happy about this. And oh god, imagine what the higher ups on his end will think." He clapped Eddy on the shoulder. "Good going. Not going to lie to you, I'm quite impressed. Lying to me, dating a literal angel..." He chuckled. "You've got balls, kid."

Eddy pursed his lips, approximating a smile. "Thank you?"

"No problem, kid." Fred nodded at Brett once more before turning away. "Enjoy your coffee. Oh, and don't think I've forgotten about that whole lying to me thing either, just because I'm impressed. You're going to have to kill overtime this week, you hear?"

Eddy bit his lip in an attempt not to laugh. He felt like he had just run a marathon. His heart was doing it's best to pound its way out of his chest, and his arms were shaking.

Brett, meanwhile, looked almost green, whether from the thought of Eddy's overtime being spent ripping people to shreds or just from the stress of the entire conversation that he just had to sit through, Eddy couldn't be sure.

"Take care, Fred," Eddy called back after the retreating demon, before turning to face Brett with a smile that was only a little bit shaky. He was pretty sure both of them knew how close their brush with death was during the course of that conversation. "So, where were we?" He asked, moving to pick up the coffee closest to him.

Brett let out a tiny, somewhat hysterical laugh, and let his head fall back against the booth behind them.