The Star Bridge Tea Lounge was a small and square room below a clock face. The walls and floor were uncovered wood, and in some places you could see the insulation between cracks in the wall. There were a couple people already in here, drinking or else reading a book or playing some sort of game with tokens and cards.
It was Moll who was waiting for me by the window. There was a chair directly across from her, and I sat down before greeting her.
"Moll Manly."
"Ni...chael, is it?"
"Correct." I did not mind her using my name, oddly enough.
Moll had an odd sort of body shape, one I deemed to be relatively unnatural- her stomach sort of ballooned with a precise curve, but her gut and lower chest were more of less flat. Her whole body lacked anything for curves, and her shoulders were much broader than her hips. Her legs, meanwhile, were short and heavy. I liked how she looked, like a mix of Cassiel's strength with Victory's feminine softness. She also looked like she could carry many heavy objects at once.
"I gave birth two weeks ago." She said. Her face was absolutely covered in freckles that were almost black on her dark brown skin.
I guess I had been staring at her for too long. "I'm sorry to hear that." I said without thinking. After a few moments I recalled what giving birth was, and I corrected myself accordingly. "Congratulations."
"I've been feeling like that too." She said with a mouth that couldn't settle on a smile or a frown. "Why did you have Stacy arrange a meeting with me? What is it that you want?"
"You, of course."
She scrunched up her nose. "You birds, all the same."
"Did I say it wrong?" I did not understand. I simply wanted to talk to her. She looked so welcome among all these demons- had my language been unclear?
"Oh, no, your point was very clear- you just have poor speaking skills. I've seen it before, unfortunately." She sighed. "You wanted to speak to me first though, yes? You think I look homely, or familiar, yes?"
"Yes." I urged. "Very much so."
"Leave me alone after this then. Every angel that's had the pleasure of meeting me has told me the same things, over and over again. What is wrong with you creatures? Why can't you leave me alone?"
She was visibly quite angry about it. "I don't have any ill-intent towards you."
"No, you don't. In fact, you only have the kindest of feelings." She took a sip of tea. "If Stacy hadn't instructed me to stay with you as long as you wanted, I would get up and leave right about now."
"Why does he get to boss you around like that?"
"We all owe debt to Stacy. Or most of us, at least." She finished her cup and banged it on the table hard enough that I feared breakage. "You will too, before long. So tell me, Nichael, do you have any questions for me? Or are you more a gawker?"
My mouth had fallen slightly open, and feeling stupid, I shut it tightly. "Nothing much."
"I love leading these things. Alright. What non-confidential information can you share on why you came to this lovely city?"
"Work." I shrugged. "Heavenly."
"Figures. You have any hobbies? Pets? Friends?"
"No. No. Two."
"What an exhilarating date this is shaping up to be." I did not enjoy her sarcasm, but it seemed to be an enchanting trait for her to have. I had to remind myself to keep steady though- she was the Aries of Hell.
One of the military generals. Among angels, it was of the highest honor to kill any of the demon generals. You'd even earn the right to wear their badges on your armor. Yltzaphael had the most until he died. Three Aquarius', one Sagittarius, three Scorpios and five Aries.
To even achieve this rank, Moll must have killed a number of angels. At least ten was our guess- sometimes we'd look at the corpses of demons and examine their kill counts, which were usually tattooed onto the skin of the right shoulder. The higher ups had many more than ten, usually. But it was a good estimate for the minimum.
"What now?" I asked.
"You're asking me?" She raised an eyebrow. "We might as well get this over with. Your place, or mine." She sighed rather sadly, putting no effort into sounding like she was asking a question. She got up and waved to the shop-keeper. "Paid for."
I followed her out into the hall, curious on what she was alluding to. Her place had been decided, I guessed, since I did not know where mine was. But I also did not know what was going to happen at her place. Was our conversation really over?
Tecie must have got up a moment after we did. I heard her following us as Moll led me down the stairs and to a room on a lower level. Was this where she lived? Her choice in tea lounge must have been based on proximity.
It was mostly dark in her room. The shutters were drawn over her window, and a dying lamp made everything look sort of yellow.
She pressed me against the door. I stopped breathing for a moment- was this an assassination attempt? Her head was alarmingly near mine, and I desperately tried to dodge it. Then she put her lips to mine- a kiss- and I shoved her away with enough force that she stumbled.
"Don't do that." I scolded. Chastity was a virtue. I was probably going to get another nightmare from Michael tonight because of this. I was just hoping he'd let me off easy since it hadn't been fully consensual.
"You're the one who wanted it."
I didn't understand that part, really, and I guess I had made another mistake in my speaking.
"No kissing then?" She had a bad habit of sighing every time she spoke, but it did add a sort of dreamy quality to her voice.
"None at all." I was glad we were finally communicating clearly.
She moved over to her bed and began to undress. "This..." She didn't finish the thought.
"Are you taking a bath?"
She looked confused. "You want to do this in the shower then?"
"I enjoy baths, and bathing." I did not understand what the 'this' was that she was referencing though.
"Ok. Follow me then." She finished removing her clothes. I wondered idly if I should too now, or if it made more sense to take them off in the bathroom.
Her bathroom was very disappointing and small. There was just a toilet, sink, and shower. Not even a bathtub, which I would have accepted (though not been willing to share with her, as it would have been too small to comfortably fit the both of us).
She started the shower without a word. The hot water had yet to come on. I wasn't sure the both of us could fit in the shower either, not without touching, and I really didn't want to touch her.
"You're not very invested in this whole thing, are you? You don't seem very excited."
"It's a very small shower. I'm not sure how comfortable it'll be."
"Hey, you're the one who chose it over the bed. I'm not one to judge. Shouldn't you at least strip by now?"
I did so with some reluctance. The hot water still hadn't arrived, and it was cold in her white tile room. Moll looked at me sadly.
I was looking at her too. At this angle, I could barely see the lines on her right shoulder.
"You're not even slightly aroused." Moll said.
"I hope never to be." It seemed like such a sudden fact to bring up, how much suspicion I had aroused in my stay at Hell. Speaking of, I wasn't sure how to ask her to spin around so I could take a good look at her shoulder without arousing her to my intentions.
"Wait- hold up." I could feel hot air coming from the shower, but she placed a cold hand against my chest and stopped me from entering. "You do realize I'm talking about sex, right? The reason for our meeting was sex. You asked Stacy to arrange this for you. Sex, that is, with me. Sexually. God, I hope that got through to you."
"Oh." I hadn't realized it, of course. I felt pretty dense about the whole situation- thinking back, there were a few signs that I may have been misinterpreting her words. Something else caught my eye though. "Hey, you only have two kills!"
"What?" She blinked, shocked. "What. Yeah. I do."
"That's very few for an Aries!" I was ecstatic, and forgot all about how close I had been to accidentally having sex with a demon.
"It is. Rather unfortunately, I got to this rank through some very alternative means- ones that were mostly beyond my will. Anyways, if you're not going to fuck me, get out. I've fulfilled my end of the contract with Stacy. Leave me alone."
I didn't really want to, but she shoved me out the door all the same.