holy

iv

as soon as eddy got back home, he started heating up a can of soup on the stove, taking unusual care to be quiet as brett had fallen asleep on the couch.

while he waited for the soul to warm, he walked over to brett's curled up figure on the couch. his body was still repulsed by brett's smell and the way a wave of intense positive energy would hit him every time the angel was near, but he tried to push that to the back of his mind.

"brett," eddy said, loud enough to wake the angel up.

"ugh, it's so bright in here," brett yawned, opening his tired eyes.

eddy looked around. it was definitely not bright in his apartment—there were no lights on and the curtains were shut.

"sorry. food's ready." eddy said, walking over to the kitchen and pouring the warm soup into the bowl. he was nervous as he walked back to the couch. would brett even like it?

he held the bowl out to brett, pausing as he watched brett hands shake.

"can you hold it?"

brett nodded.

eddy handed it over to him warily.

"if you spill that on my couch, i'll kill you."

brett's pale blue eyes went wide.

"that was a joke."

•••

brett ate the soup gratefully, relishing in the way the warm liquid slid down his sore throat and spread heat to the tips of his cold ears. he watched eddy prepare his own food in the kitchen with curiosity in his pale blue eyes. he wondered why, of all people, a demon was being so nice to him. sure, eddy was trying to keep himself from getting in trouble with the archangels, but he was taking especially good care of him. maybe there was something else.

as eddy walked back into the living room to sit down, his eyes caught brett staring at him. he glared back, irises flashing red for a split second. it was getting late, and he was on edge.

brett looked away and bent his head down.

"sorry," he apologized.

"hmph," eddy huffed in response.

brett spooned the last of his soup into his mouth and set the empty bowl on the coffee table. he could feel the demon's eyes burning a hole in his skull and he glanced up cautiously.

"do your eyes always look like that?" eddy questioned, leaning back in his chair.

"like what?" brett asked, confused.

"pale blue. almost white, really."

brett furrowed his eyebrows.

"n-no, they shouldn't be."

he blinked hard and shook his head, as if trying to will his eyes to turn back to their normal deep blue.

eddy let out a short laugh.

"that's not gonna work."

•••

by the time eddy had finished his dinner, he could tell that brett was getting tired again, so he decided against giving him the cupcake that night. he changed into sweatpants and a t-shirt, and headed back out into the living room to check on brett before he went to bed.

the little angel was buried under eddy's thick blanket and was still shivering. eddy groaned, heading back to his room to get another blanket for brett. it was concerning that it had been nearly 24 hours and he still wasn't making huge progress. he had just the smallest bit of alcohol and it was still hurting him a day later. just thinking about it made eddy's blood boil.

he covered brett with the second blanket and went back to his room, shutting the door and flopping onto his bed. he groaned into his pillow that smelled like angel after brett had walked into his room that afternoon, knowing that he'd struggle to fall asleep once again.

•

eddy woke up around midnight to the sound of intense coughing. his veins burned with irritability. couldn't a demon get some sleep around here?

he stomped out of his room, heading straight to the bathroom where the light was on.

"shut u—" eddy growled out in annoyance.

he stopped when he opened the door wider, revealing brett, who was crouched over on the floor, throwing up into the toilet bowl. eddy cringed at the putrid scent, which was a mixture of old soup and blood.

brett leaned back, coughing violently, blood dripping down the side of his face, staining his pale skin. his eyes were white now, pupils small, all color drained from his irises. eddy looked down at brett in worry as he watched the angel's entire body tremble aggressively.

brett's weak eyes peered up at eddy, and with the last bit of energy he had left, he pleaded:

"help."

this is what sent eddy over the edge.

he growled lowly, pushing himself away from the bathroom and towards the front door. he opened it and closed it with a slam, leaving brett alone in the apartment.

as he unfurled his large black wings and took off into the night sky, he only had one thing on his mind.

to kill.

•

he found who he was looking for quickly. the bartender from the previous night was conveniently taking trash out into the alleyway when he landed, and he grabbed the man by the neck without warning and slammed his body into the brick wall with a sharp crack of bones.

"why did you do it?" eddy asked, his voice scarily low and threatening. his grip tightened on the man's neck when he didn't respond.

the bartender started to panic, thrashing his body and trying to claw eddy's hands off.

"i don't know what you're talking about! i swear!"

eddy's eyes glowed an even deeper red as his nails dug into the man's neck, drawing blood that dripped down his arms. he hated liars.

"i asked WHY!" eddy yelled this time, his sharp teeth dangerously close to the man's face.

the man went limp, and looked into eddy's eyes with a blank gaze.

eddy grinned at the familiar sight—he hadn't entranced a human in a long time, and it felt empowering to do it again. he loved the way that the weak human would bend to his every word while they were under his influence. he was in complete control.

"i wanted to get him drunk and take him back to my house," the bartender answered smugly.

"and?" eddy pressed on. he wanted to know the full story.

"i wanted to fuck—"

eddy ripped the man's heart out before he could finish the sentence. warm blood coated his hands and his shirt, but he didn't care. it was exhilarating. he'd never felt a high like this before with any other kill.

he picked up the body and threw it into the dumpster, lighting the whole thing on fire in the process because why not?

now that the kill was over, his mind focused on the next most important thing: brett.