In the Beat of a Wing {boyxboy}

Chapter Twenty-Three

"Yeah, yeah, I can do that," Reivon's voice didn't sound like it normally did but Eden didn't dwell on it, he wasn't even supposed to be taking calls that moment, he should be working.

"Thanks, I'll see you later," Eden barely listened to Reivon's goodbye, putting his phone in his pocket and returning to the main dining area, finding still no one seated in his area.

"Penny for your thoughts?" an unfamiliar voice said, rousing Eden from his thoughts. He fixed his posture, looking to his right and seeing a young man smiling at him. He had pale blonde, almost flaxen, hair that contrasted with his black eyes. Great, a demon, just what Eden needed that morning.

"You got a-" Eden was cut off when the man held up a little copper coin, a knowing smirk contorting his smile, "well, alright then," Eden added in a murmur, putting on a polite smile of his own, "can I get you anything to drink?" the man wasn't there five minutes ago, before Eden had totally lost himself in his head, so he mustn't have been served yet.

"You got herbal tea?" Eden froze, a chill running down his body, his fingertips beginning to tremble as he stared wide-eyed at the man, "it's OK if you don't," the man added in a slow, unsure voice, his smile fading a little. Eden was gawking, oops.

"Um, yeah, yeah, we do. Can I just have you do something real quick? It's a weird ask, and I'll explain after, I just need you to do this," the man nodded, his expression becoming more sceptical. Eden leant forward on the counter, keeping the eye contact with the man, presenting his neck to him.

"Touch my necklace," the man frowned, chuckling lowly.

"What?" Eden had a feeling the man wasn't Shai, his order had just shaken him, it wasn't like he had every customer that came in touch the necklace. He allowed a small smile to broaden into a wider grin, cocking an eyebrow at the man. Flirting was bad, he shouldn't be flirting, but if it would get him to touch the goddamn necklace then Eden would do almost anything. He simply wanted confirmation.

"Come on, demon boy, touch my necklace. Please?" Eden batted his eyelashes, knowing that was exactly how he got Malcolm to agree to anything. The man hesitated, before chuckling lowly and reaching out. He hooked a finger under the necklace, rubbing the cool metal slightly. No flinching, no burning, no grimacing. As Eden thought, that man was just a demon.

"Thank yo-" Eden was cut off as the man curled his finger, tightening the necklace around his neck, tugging the boy closer, stopping when he saw the wide stare.

"Sorry," the man murmured, letting go of the necklace so Eden could stand up fully once again, "sometimes my other side gets a little overactive," Eden smiled sympathetically, patting the man's hand on the counter.

"Let me go get you the tea menu, keep that penny on hand," Eden wandered into the kitchen, finding the tea menu where he had left it, being stopped by Ryan just as he reached the door.

"Who's that guy you were serving?"

"The demon?" Ryan nodded, and Eden suddenly remembered the man's bad past with that creed, "don't know his name yet, don't worry, I'm safe," Eden flashed a reassuring smile at Ryan, patting his arm gently then returning to the demon at the counter.

"You gonna tell me what's so important about that necklace then?" the demon asked after ordering a peppermint tea, his eyes having faded to a pretty, light-toned green.

"It's osmium, my boyfriend pissed off a shifter and apparently my life is too good to pass up," Eden was happy to slip the boyfriend card into conversation, making it blatantly obvious he wasn't available. If the man wasn't interested, he wouldn't even notice. A clever trick he learnt from Archer a long time ago.