Demonic Influence (I hate my co-workers)

Déjà Vu

Though it took a while, they eventually made their way to some old bookstore, taking the time to wander here and there, to just relax and let their thoughts lie where they did. Eddy had been doing that quite a lot lately, not worrying about his destination and just letting fate decide where he ended up. It was relaxing, though Brett's hands froze up again fairly quickly. By the time that they got to a store they wanted to enter, his fingers felt like ice against Eddy's.

Cheeks flushed red from the cold, they ducked inside the store's low hanging entrance. Almost immediately, they were hit with a rush of warm air and the scent of cinnamon and cedar. Eddy frowned. That seems familiar.

Some teenager sat behind the counter, half heartedly scrolling through something on their phone and looking generally engaged with the world around them, in that way that all teenagers did. He looked up at them when they entered. Eddy smiled at them as they made awkward eye contact.

"Ummm, the owner isn't here on Tuesdays or Sundays, but feel free to look around. If you want to buy anything, I guess I'll check you out or something." The teenager nodded, breaking the eye contact and resuming whatever they were doing on their phone.

Alright, that's really just a ringing endorsement of this business. "Thanks," Eddy responded, not quite sure if he was really thankful. A couple of other customers were milling around the small shop, but no one was really doing much.

"Why are we here?" Brett whispered, interlacing his fingers with Eddy's and leaning his head on the taller boy's upper arm.

Eddy shrugged, doing his best not to completely displace Brett's head. "Figured we would just relax, maybe browse a little bit. Maybe find some more books for your basement, I think I saw an empty square foot of wall space you still need to fill." He grinned playfully.

Brett could feel himself scoff in response, the sound of disdain turning into more of a giggle at the end. Having been around for much longer than his complexion insinuated, he had had quite a long time to collect as many books as he could feasibly fit in his house. As a result, books lined his basement from wall to wall. Eddy was mostly past the point of telling hoarder jokes, and he had accepted Brett for who he was long ago, someone who really just couldn't let old memories go, but he still felt the need to tease him occasionally.

"You know what, maybe I will find something to fill that space," Brett fired back, before quieting slightly. "Or maybe you could just bring some of your own stuff," he offered shyly. "You know, since it's so small."

Eddy could feel the strange fuzzy feeling in his heart again. He knew it was stupid, but there was just something so touching about Brett wanting books from his life integrated into Brett's life. There was just such a domestic feel to that gesture, as small as it was.

"Yeah, I might be able to find something if I rustle through my own shelves for enough time," he responded, nodding and squeezing Brett's hand. This, in turn, made Brett grin.

"We're still going to browse around, right?" he said hopefully.

"Whatever you want," Eddy said, grinning at the almost goofy joy that came across Brett's face when he heard those words. And so he let the shorter boy lead him around the store, looking at some of the slightly older books first, as well as a couple of comparatively newer ones.

The lighting was dim, with a slight yellowish tinge, and one of the bulbs in the corner flickered every so often, but the story had a homely feel. It was almost as though they had stepped into the past, Eddy didn't think he saw a single book that was published after 1994.

Brett was thrilled. He was thoroughly entranced by the comely store, and Eddy was able to get some mental notes for Christmas gifts. They stayed for quite some time, as long as Brett wanted. If you had asked, neither one of them would have been able to tell you just how long the two of them stayed in the shop.

Eddy would have no problem, however, describing the way Brett's smile glittered in the low light, or perhaps the way his eyes lit up as he found something of interest to him. He could recall the low baritone of Brett's voice quite easily, exactly how it sounded when whispered close to his ear. The phantom touch of Brett's cool fingers still lingered on his own, and he would be hard pressed to forget exactly how the smaller boy's lips felt against his own.

As lovely as his earlier outing was, Eddy's later outing was turning out to be nowhere near as quaint.

Eddy hated his work. It was dirty, it was grimy, and it really was just not his style. Needless to say, he had to do it. Well, he didn't have to do it. Hell would fire him if he didn't though. On second thought, they really wouldn't. You can't get fired from being a demon. Fred would just be really disappointed in him if he didn't. That was a lie. Fred didn't give a rat's ass what he did. I wonder if you can fire angels...

Eddy really didn't know why he kept working when he hated it so much. It was time consuming, it was really yucky, on occasion, and he was not going to lie, it was kind of upsetting. He didn't get paid for doing it, they just kind of told him 'Hey, welcome to hell, loser, hope you're ready to start killing sinners!'. His thoughts were drawn back to his boss, and his pastel green apron. Even Fred needs a job topside, to pay the bills. Still, maybe it had something to do with his demonic instincts, but Eddy just never felt as alert as when he was out hunting. Whatever. Bottom line, Eddy hated his job.

Maybe even if they screamed a little less it would help with his squeamishness. Eddy had just finished decapitating the man in front of him when he heard the voice, quiet yet not timid.

"Eddy Chen."

Ah yes, thought Eddy with a sigh, our returning motif of a sinister voice in an alleyway. 

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A/N: You guys are so sweet! Thank you so much for understanding my school based troubles. I literally could not ask for a sweeter audience. 

Also, yea, I changed the title just a little teensy bit! I thought it sounded a little nicer this way, but wasn't sure if anyone would notice. You've got a sharp eye! :D