"Y'know, you're different." Striker said before flicking his cigarette bud away. Striker was off his break now but you still tagged along while he went and bought materials that were on a shopping list that Lin gave him.
"How so?" You asked, leaning in closer to hear what he said.
"As you know, Imps are seen as the weaker species compared to other demons." He explained, a grimace appearing on his face.
"And because of this a lot of our kind has an inferiority complex, most Imps I come across are weak. Both in their mind and bodies— but you, you're strong." He finished.
"That's because our world is cruel, Striker. I'm strong because I have ta be, some of tha shit we see—" you paused to sip on your water (which you got in a to go cup for some reason).
"It's deplorable." You added.
"Right, but instead of choosing to be mediocre for the rest of your life, you chose to be strong." He added, you nodded slowly in agreement. You were anything but mediocre.
"Hell is full of good for nothing lowlife fuck ups, but you and me— we're nothing like the rapists, thieves, cheaters." You visibly winced at the mention of cheaters. He paused his monologue, staring deeply into your eyes. His yellow eyes glowed as the sun went down.
"Y/n, earlier you had told that scumbag as well as me that your relationship was complicated. Do you have a boyfriend?" He asked, almost like he was trying to be sensitive. He could tell you didn't want to talk about this.
You panicked, not knowing if you should lie or tell the truth. You couldn't help but do the ladder, Striker wasn't a dummy, he could tell when you lied.
"Yeah— well, no. I have a husband, Julius." You admitted. Automatically, Striker felt guilty for feeling in anyway romantically interested in you. You were spoken for already.
"B-but, we're not together. I've been trying to serve him divorce papers but I can't find the fucker." You cursed, hands shaking in rage and anxiety. He frowned at your shaken form.
"Remember when I told you about my sister and I?" You asked, he nodded slowly.
"Well that 'artistic difference' was him, she saw him as hers. And it wasn't until after a year of them doing it behind my back did I find out. After a show we went back to our apartment, and we didn't have any groceries so I went out ta get some. By tha time I got back, I caught them in my bed and—" your voice broke, you felt your wet face. You didn't realize you were crying until hot tears ran down your face.
"I don't know what came over me, I was just so angry and frustrated." You muttered.
"So I beat them half to death, then I shot the bastard." You admitted, rubbing your tears away. Striker was shocked at your admittance, but he made sure it didn't reflect in his face.
"And then I left the apartment and stayed with Millie for a few days. And when I came back all of my stuff was gone, my clothes, my bed, my fucking cat! They took everything." You finished.
"So, now I got nothing except for Bubbs..." You sighed, brushing your hair away from your eyes as the hair was sticking to your wet face.
"That's it?" He asked, arms crossed and eyes downcast on you.
"What do you mean "that's it?" you yelled at the man, eyes filled with rage.
"C'mon, you're smart. You got something going around in that head of yours." He edged you on, trying to get you to admit something.
"I...I don't know what you mean." You mumbled. He grabbed you by your shoulders, looking directly into your eyes with a crazed look. The green circles in his eyes resembling a bullseye felt almost hypnotic.
"Y/n, I know you want to get back at them. Don't you want to finish the job?" He asked, you looked into his eyes with a just as intense look.
"Yes...I do." You finally said, remembering how awful he made you feel.
"Do you think they'll be at the harvest moon festival?" He asked, his tail rattling dangerously.
You thought for a second before nodding "Yeah, I think so..." He laughed grimly at this.
"Then it's settled, that's where you'll do it then." He said, pulling away but not letting you go.
"So lemme get this straight, ya want me ta kill my husband and sister...how exactly do ya benefit from this?" You asked glaring back at him, seeing where his motives are.
"You're a powerful Imp, and I just wanted to cement that idea into my head. Kind of prove myself right if you will. Plus, if shit hits the fan I'll be able to collect whatever's left of ya." He purred. You continued to glare back at him.
He let go of you and turned behind a building, afterwards walking back with the most beautiful horse you had ever seen.
"Is this..." you went to say his name.
"Bombproof." He finished, stroking the horses face. It whinied at his touch, you inched forward, eyes full of amazement.
"Wow..." you whispered to yourself.
He smiled softly at your amazed face, before continuing to saddle up the horse.
He mounted the horse, afterwards asking for your hand, which you held as you got behind him on the horse. You held the grocery bag tightly, using your other arm to hold onto the mans midsection.
'Are...are these abs?' You thought to yourself, blushing red.
You both arrived home quickly, dropping the groceries off before heading to the barn where Bombproof was kept. You held your hand out to the horse as he sniffed it. Striker saw this and began to speed walk to the barn. He knew Bombproof was a very temperamental horse since he didn't like most people. Just as he was about to call out to you, Bombproof lowered his head to let you pet him.
"What a handsome horse, I bet Striker takes good care of you, huh?" You whispered to the horse.
Striker listened as you whispered kind words to the Bombproof, (who seemed to tolerate your presence).
"Wanna know something?" You whispered to the horses, he let out a small huff which you took as a yes.
"I was happy when he left..." you admitted, softly petting the creature which stared at you.
Striker took this information in, leaning against the wall where you couldn't see him.
"I know it sounds stupid, right? 'Why would you be happy after finding out that your husband was cheating on you?', truth is, I don't know why I got married. Sure at one point I loved him but, I knew he wasn't faithful. He wasn't a good man. He would come home late almost every night, smelling like booze and cheap perfume. I usually would just shrugged it off as jealousy, but I knew something was up." You admitted, a tear forming in your eye. You didn't let it drop though, you held your ring finger up to the tear duct and the water fell onto your finger.
"I guess what I'm trying to say is, it's better I was confronted by the truth. I can't let my guard down again, not after that. I don't think I'd be able to recover." You admitted, voice raising a bit. After a few seconds of you not talking, Striker walked in, standing behind you.
You turned around and ran directly into his chest. Shrieking and falling backwards.
He quickly grabbed you by your arm, pulling you into him where your head ended up resting on his shoulder.
The air was still after that, the only sounds came from Bombproof who was drinking some water.
Your warm breath tickled his neck, making his hair stand up. You then pushed him away harshly as he held a smirk on face.
"Thanks for the save, stalker." You muttered, kicking at the hay on the ground.
He smiled at your behavior before holding up a thumb to gesture outside.
"Wanna see something?" He asked, you nodded before walking behind him.
You walked and walked and walked, complaining to the farmhand the whole time. He rolled his eyes at your nagging, and eventually he stopped. Not noticing he had stopped you ran into his back, and he let out a warning hiss.
You muttered an apology, looking at the ground before your eyes met the beautiful sky. You let in a small gasp as you watched the view. It was a warm pentagramset that cascaded all across the beautiful amber fields. You quickly sat down taking in the view, and Striker sat down beside you.