Demonic Influence (I hate my co-workers)

Hope For The Best

The house was supposed to be dark. Usually, when Eddy felt this strange sense of being awake when he wasn't ready to be awake yet, it was dark outside. His stomach twisted itself into knots as everything flooded back to him. Breakfast, the archangel, Brett.

Eddy shot up like a rocket, his head spinning and vision fuzzy in only a moment. He let out a small gasp at the feeling, giving himself a moment to lean against the wall, to let his vertigo fade away.

It took him only moments more to find and get to Brett's body, his form illuminated by the sunlight streaming through his open windows. Birds were singing, a slight breeze was coming through the window, and Brett lay unconscious in front of him.

Eddy let out a small, angry hiss as he noticed the black and blue marks that seemed to wrap their way around Brett's jawline. He propped up his love's head in his lap, checking his breathing to reassure himself that Brett was still alive.

Alive, but in pain. Even as Eddy took great care so as not to nudge the injured boy, Brett's facial features twisted, and he let out a strangled sort of gasp. The shorter boy was cold to the touch, colder than Eddy could ever remember him being. He paused. That was odd, something didn't seem quite right about that.

"Brett?" he whispered softly, having frankly zero idea how to help heal anyone in the first place, let alone Brett. This was especially true seeing as Brett bore no physical wounds, apart from his necklace of bruises. It wouldn't be until much later that evening that Eddy would find that he bore a similar ring of purple around his neck. "Brett, dude, are you awake?"

Ah yes, Eddy, eloquent as always.

But hey, he was a demon worrying after the aftermath of an archangel, miracles could happen. And they appeared to be happening in real time. It could just be Eddy's optimistic hope, but Brett seemed like he was beginning to come to. The boy in his arms stirred, squinching his already closed eyes shut further before opening them slowly.

Eddy made direct eye contact with him, feeling himself relax. Brett was okay. They were okay.

Brett blinked once, twice. He squinted, and then scowled. "Look what he did to you," he whispered, voice barely more than a murmur. "I'll kill him if he touches you again..." His hand reached up and caressed the side of Eddy's neck.

What should have been a touching moment was absolutely ruined by the loud squeak that Eddy let out, flinching away from Brett's freezing cold fingers. This, in turn, nearly jostled Brett from his lap, and they both ended up more startled and confused than anything else. Eddy gave him a nervous grin, biting his lip. "Sorry, cold."

Brett stared at him a moment longer, the corners of his mouth twitching up. He was trying his hardest not to say anything, and Eddy was the first of them to break, cracking up and grinning infectiously. Of course, it's safe to say that Brett was quick to follow him in his uncontrollable laughter, and before they knew it, the two of them were practically clutching each other in an attempt not to collapse, their fit of giggles completely shattering any semblance of peace in Brett's house.

I'm like ninety six percent sure that we're both in shock right now.

"What- what even happened?" Eddy wheezed out between peals of laughter, clutching his sides.

Brett let his head fall back and hit Eddy's thigh as he thought it over, still grinning wildly. "I don't know man, but dude, I challenged an archangel."

"Oh yeah?" Eddy responded. "I must have missed that part, what with my having been unconscious and all. You simply must fill me in, how'd that go for you?" His fingers began to absentmindedly tangle into Brett's hair, playing with the dark strands and half heartedly massaging his scalp.

"Well, I'm still here, aren't I?" Brett looked pleased with himself. "So I'd say pretty fricking well." He let out an even louder fit of laughter. "How am I still alive? Eddy, why am I still here?"

Eddy smiled a little bit at that, doing his best not to think about what would have happened if Brett was not still here. "It's an amazing feat, for sure. Food for thought."

"And you know the craziest bit?" Brett asked him.

"Hmm?"

"I didn't break my glasses, they're completely fine." They both dissolved into another fit of giggles upon hearing that.

"I love you," Eddy said suddenly, blurting the words out as though they were some of the last he might ever say to Brett. Immediately, his cheeks flushed. "That was stupid, I'm sorry. You don't have to say anything back yet, I know it's too early to decide something like that. Just..." He smiled. "Tell me when you're ready. If you're ready. Not before."

The shorter boy nodded, returning Eddy's smile. "Thank god, I was about to just throw up finger guns and hope for the best." Eddy's resulting grin could brighten even the darkest of nights.

Yeah, they were definitely both in shock.

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A/N: You all are the lucky recipients of this fun and confusing filler chapter!!! I'm already mostly done with the next one, and while this is a little shorter, it's kinda a necessary break between this and what's next to come. Um... I hope you're all enjoying this story as much as I am, and thank you so much for your continued support! It means the world to me and every comment I get on this thing brightens my day. 

Also!! I got a question about Gabriel. Gabriel isn't so much "bad" as he is... full of himself. He's "perfect" and "flawless" and has been given a shit ton of power. He looks down on Brett simply because he finds him beneath him, and he (with the other archangels) made the rules, so they're in charge of reinforcing them. This also means that he gets to be a massive jerk whenever he feels like it, and can break those same rules with few to no consequences. Basically he's just a massive disaster who was given too much power to deal with. Also I needed someone to be "the bad guy".  Hope that answers your question! :D