"Ethan!" Eden screamed into her empty apartment. "Ethan! I need you!"
Seconds later, he appeared in the mirror behind her. He looked intrigued, until he realized nothing was happening.
"Oh cool, I didn't know if that would work."
"I was kind of in the middle of something, Eden. What do you need?" He rolls his eyes and sits himself onto her bed.
"Well... what do I wear?" She asked as she rifle through her closet.
"What?"
"Tonight. For the meeting. What should I wear? I've never been to one of these before. Formal? Business casual? Or ma—"
"Sweetheart, it really does not matter. Is this all you called me for?" Ethan was a little irritated that he was interrupted in the middle of something important to help her pick an outfit. "Plus, it's not for like, six hours. You do not need that much time."
"Oh, no, but I have a class so I'll only have a few minutes to get ready after." She shrugged, pulling out a dress. "What are you wearing?"
She thought finding the right outfit was important. She'd be the only mortal there.
Plus, an outfit can say a lot about your intentions. Eden wanted to exert confidence since it wasn't a place she was supposed to be.
"Like I said, it doesn't matter. I will see you in six hours. I've got business." And without another word, he was gone.
Ultimately, she ended up waiting for Daphne's help when she got home.
Of course, Daphne asked a lot of questions, mainly about Adam and Ethan. She assumed it was a date.
"Who are you seeing?" She hummed, flipping through things.
"Ethan. We have a meeting,"
"A meeting?" Daphne snorts, pulling out a cute red top. "Oh! I have a really nice skirt you could wear with this. It'll be perfect for your 'meeting'. You can borrow it, I'll go grab it." Eden wasn't a fan of the length, but she had to admit it went nicely. "I'm sure Ethan will love it."
"It's a meeting!" Eden whined,
There was no way Daphne would believe her.
Eden decided to do her makeup before class to save time, and by then she's running late, again. She'll have to get dressed when she gets home.
She does manage to make it though, and sits herself down right next to Adam.
"Hey, Eden," he smiles. "You disappeared at the party last week."
"Yeah, I'm sorry. I ran into... an old friend. I just lost you." Ethan was, technically old. Like thousands of years old, so it wasn't a lie. She got distracted by a hot demon—it happens to the best of us.
"We're actually having another party tonight, if you wanna come," Adam, take a hint.
"I'm super sorry, I've actually got plans. Maybe next time though?"
"Yeah, next time."
He sighs a little bit, but turns to pay attention to the lecture. By now Eden has acknowledged he'd definitely been flirting with her. He was nice, but she wasn't into it.
She wouldn't say anything, but her eyes were on someone else.
After class she books it to the car to get home faster, finding Ethan already waiting in her room when she gets there.
"Did Daphne let you in?"
"Nah, she fell asleep watching a movie. But it's not like I need permission to get in." He was technically right, but it sounded creepy.
"I gotta change so like... come back in five?" Eden asks, grabbing the outfit she laid out earlier.
"You're not fun at all." Ethan groans.
Letting him stay was tempting but... there was business. Maybe later.
When he came back, he was buttoning up a new shirt but got distracted by her. He was a little early, and she was without a shirt.
"You couldn't wait until I called?" Eden shook her head and pulled her shirt on. "I think you messed up a little there."
Ethan looked down to see his buttons askew. She laughed and stepped forward to redo them for him.
Her hands brushed against his now fully healed chest, causing a sharp inhale at her cold touch.
Eden ignored it though, stomach bubbling in anticipation. She was mostly just going to watch but it was cool. They were meeting at a gateway, neutral grounds, and it was exceptionally hard to get mortals inside.
He'd pulled a lot of strings to make it work. Of course, she didn't know the logistics of it all. She just knew it was exciting.
Ethan grabbed her hand as they left, appearing in a long, boring hallway. It looked like it stretched on forever, with different doors the whole way down.
They were all either wood, black, or white, which seemed pretty cliche, but she kept quiet.
They entered into a wooden door to find Grayson already seated with two backup angels next to him.
His eyes narrowed slightly upon seeing Eden, but he still stood to shake their hands.
So formal. "I'm assuming since she's here she already knows way more than she's supposed to, so we'll talk about her later." Grayson sighed, then plastered a polite smile onto his face.
"What's this about?" Ethan sat forward and leaned against the table, his eyes turning red.
"Always so dramatic," his brother rolled his eyes as they turned white. The other angels did the same. Eden felt a little left out, not having a cool eye trick to contribute with. "I'll cut to the chase—we want our angels back. We know you have three of them."
Ethan snorted. That's what this was about? The angels they captured a month ago?
"What would we get in return?"
Grayson, snapping his fingers, has five different demons brought into the room. Their eyes are a plain black and they struggle against some odd, glowing restraints.
"Five low-level demons? You can do better than that," at this point, Grayson is irritated.
He slowly gets up from his chair, pulls out a small, white iridescent blade, and slits one of their throats with no hesitation.
"We can handle some casualties. You're going to have to try harder here." They had an abundance of demons, losing a few would never hurt.
"...dispose of the rest of the abominations."
The other two angels leave with the very angry demons, now just the opposing brothers and a very concerned Eden sitting at the table.
"Listen, we know you're planning something big. Once we get all the information we can, you'll get the angels back. Well... maybe." Ethan grinned, crossing his arms over his chest.
Eden was, justifiably, shocked by the interaction. There was black blood left behind. The body seemed to dissolve on its own.
Grayson was looking for any leverage he could think of. Unfortunately, he was underprepared.
"Fine. Let's move on to Eden."
As if on cue, her phone started to ring. Ethan turned to look at her with narrowed eyes, but Grayson thought it was amusing.
After debating whether or not to answer it, she just said fuck it and picked up the call. It was from Adam.
"Eden! I know you said you were busy but are you home yet?" He asked, loud voices in the background. He was at a party, thinking about her.
"Uh, no, Adam," she spoke quietly into the phone. Grayson caught it though, and upon hearing what she said, found himself smirking. "I'm pretty busy right now, why?"
"Ah, damn. I'm ditching the party to head over with Daphne and couple other people. I was hoping to see you."
He really wasn't getting the hint.
Eden gave him a quick goodbye and hung up before turning back to Grayson. "What about me?"
"Ethan knows he isn't supposed to entertain mortals. It's not just an angel rule. Seeing you more than a couple of times can have serious consequences." Ethan hadn't told her that. It was technically true, but not enforced as harshly by demons. They didn't like rules.
But if Grayson were to report him, he could still get in trouble for it.
Ethan cracked his knuckles as he stood, walking toward his brother. The air was crackling with energy, not that they noticed.
Eden did though. But Ethan spoke before she could say something. "Just because you're still hurt over that girl doesn't mean no one else should mingle with mortals."
Grayson fell for a mortal?
Eden's eyes widened as she took in that information, wondering what could have happened. It set something off in Grayson.
Wings sprung out of his back as he pushed Ethan, watching his body slide across the white floor of the conference room. Ethan laughed as he stood up, wiping some blood from his mouth.
He held his hand out, a pitchfork appearing that he threw toward his brother.
A pitchfork? Didn't seem like his style. But it worked.
Grayson seethed in pain as it pierced his skin, the white in his veins spilling out, flecks of gold hidden in the blood.
"Don't talk about her. You don't understand."
It had only been a couple of years since it happened, and for someone who'd been alive for thousands it didn't feel long enough.
"I understand that you're some stuck-up, holier than thou asshole." Ethan scoffed, just remembering Eden was in the room. "Are you alright?"
She went to nod, but Grayson's fingers touched her forehead before she could and her body went limp. Unfortunately she was standing, so she hit the floor.
"She's just asleep, don't worry."
"Dude!" Ethan rushed to her side, holding her limp body.
Grayson sighed, "you know this is a bad idea, Ethan. This is more than just a law thing, you can't have relations with mortals. It just won't work." He was trying to reason with his brother at this point, but Ethan didn't care.
It was his personal experience, not Ethan's. And since they didn't have a good relationship, he didn't wanna hear it.
Ethan knew what he was doing, and he didn't need anyone's advice.
They bickered for a few more minutes until Eden woke up, immediately pushing Ethan away with wide eyes.
She had no idea who he was or where they were. That was Grayson's doing.
"Did you seriously wipe her memory?" Ethan snapped. "Come here, Eden."
"What? I don't kno—"
He ignored her protests and pressed a finger to her temple, having to use a bit of force to keep her still. Once she had her memories back she'd be fine.
"Okay, first of all, my head is pounding. So thanks for that," Eden groaned in pain. "Second of all, what the fuck? I get you're like, an angel and all that but you don't just get to erase people's memories whenever you want! Aren't you supposed to be the nice one?"
Grayson just shrugged. He wasn't in the mood to argue this anymore.
"I was just—"
"No! Fuck you, and fuck angels. You don't do shit and just act better than everyone else." Ethan raises his hand to her head again. "Do not touch me."
"Relax, I'm just fixing your headache so you aren't so damn moody." He chuckles. He thought her being mad was hot, but knew she was in quite a bit of pain from getting her memories back so quickly and wanted to help.
"Eden, I'm really trying to help you here. He's manipulating you," Grayson said softly. "Ethan is a demon, and deep down you know what that means. And you know you're changing." He let out a small sigh and grabbed her hand. "Don't do anything you can't take back. Be careful, Eden."
And then it was just her and Ethan.
It was a long day, and she ended up pissed off. Her phone said they'd been there for 4 hours.
Time moved a little different in the gateway, which Ethan didn't warn her of. It was already 1am.
"Let's go blow off some steam, you look like you could use it," Ethan suggested, grabbing her by the hand. "Mind if I take you somewhere?"
"Please."
She was fuming. Grayson just thought he knew everything and she wasn't going to listen.
He couldn't try and convince her otherwise, especially when she barely knew him. Sure, he was an angel, but Ethan had been much kinder and more respectful toward her.
Maybe she was crazy, but she didn't care.
They arrive outside of an interesting looking bar, which Eden quickly realizes is populated by demons.
"Alright, so this'll probably be different from bars you're used to, but you're with me so it'll be fine," Ethan reassures her, as if she were worried. She wasn't.
Looking around, the line was populated by demons with all kinds of different horns and a few different eye colors.
Most prominent were dark blue and black—it seemed horns, eyes, and blood were the same color, mostly. Other than a few yellow-eyed demons with black horns.
There actually wasn't another demon with red eyes anywhere to be seen. Only Ethan.
They skipped the line easily, but a demon with curly blue horns stopped them from going straight in.
"Is she a mortal?"
"Yeah, she's with me," he instinctively shielded her with his own body.
"We're gonna need her to give some blood," the guard motioned to a bowl sitting in front of them.
Ethan furrowed his eyebrows angrily. "Since when is that a requirement?" Give blood just to get into a bar? It seemed ridiculous.
"Just following procedure."
As Ethan fought about it with the guard, Eden scoffed to herself. They were getting nowhere, and she needed a drink.
He didn't even notice as she grabbed the knife off the table and slit her hand open.
"All good?" She asked the guard, hand dripping still.
It was a shallow cut, but it definitely stung. She was just tired of waiting at this point, and had heard enough arguing for the day.
Ethan ran his thumb over the cut to seal it, glaring down at the girl. But they were let in without issue and immediately sat at a table in the corner.
"You shouldn't have done that. You don't even know what they wanted it for."
"Stop worrying, Ethan. Now, I want one of those blue flaming drinks," Eden grinned and motioned to a drink someone else had.
Ethan wouldn't admit it, but yeah, he was a little worried about her. If anything happened it would be his fault.
He hated that he was worrying about a mortal, but chalked it up to him being responsible for her life. Sure, he was a demon, but he didn't usually go around killing mortals for fun.
As she was the only mortal hanging out in the bar, they were getting some looks.
"So, why are you the only one with red horns and eyes?" She asked, blowing out the fire before downing her drink.
"Oh, only fallen angels have red. Black is the most common, the blue is for older, high-ranking demons," he told her, swirling a glowing drink around in his glass. "And then there's a few yellow, they're highest on the chain, just above me."
Across the bar was a gut-wrenching scream.
A couple of demons dragged out a shackles and terrified looking human and chained him to the wall. Eden's eyes widened as he pleaded for his life.
"Ethan what—"
"This happens sometimes. It's not a huge deal," he said nonchalantly.
They were about to straight up murder for entertainment and it wasn't a big deal? She'd have to get used to that.
The man happened to notice Eden, and hoping he could convince her to help, called out. "Please! You look human too—help me!"
Ethan shook his head and turned his attention away, back toward Eden who was trying to ignore the man yelling at her. Even if she wanted to help, she was surrounded by demons.
The two were talking, flirting, as a black-eyed demon came and sat in the seat next to Eden.
"Ethan, gonna introduce me to the lady?" He showed off his sharp teeth.
"Get lost."
He didn't need to be told twice—but he took Eden with him.
They were just in a private back room of the bar, but she did not feel safe with him. But she couldn't just teleport out of there.
"You're a mortal, huh?" His breath was hot against her neck, and he only laughed as she shoved him away. "Mortals are my favorite toys."
"I said, get lost." Ethan said through grit teeth as he stormed in, flinging the low-level demon into a wall and grabbing Eden.
"This was a bust. Let's just go to my apartment." She suggested, feeling secure with his arm around her shoulder. He nodded and transported the two of them right outside her door.
There were people inside, so randomly appearing wouldn't look good.
Unlocking the door, she's met with a mumbled greeting from a couple of tired and drunk kids sprawled across the living room.
Daphne winks at her when she sees Ethan, considering they're coming home so late. She'd be asking for details later. Among the people over, Adam was still there.
When he saw Ethan he didn't try to talk to her though. She didn't notice their hands were still interlocked, but he did.
Ignoring the sleepy guests, they retreated to her room and locked the door.
Instead of leaving, Ethan decided to stay and hangout for a while. They were both lying on her bed, watching Call Me by Your Name. Her choice, but he didn't mind.
His hand rested on her thigh, their arms pressed together, but other than that they weren't touching at all.
Ethan slowly creept his hand up though, testing her.
She figured she'd play the same game instead of giving in. Eden's hand rested just above his lap, and he for sure noticed.
But now neither of them wanted to give in.
The movie was getting steamy but neither of them could focus on it. They'd escalated from teasing, both trying to be quiet.
Eden was palming Ethan through his pants, while his hand was fully under her skirt, fingers moving tantalizing slow.
They were both digging their teeth into their bottom lip, until Eden let out an exasperated sigh.
"Screw this," she muttered and reached to undo the button on his pants.
Ethan took it as an invitation to undress her as well, which he did simply with a snap of his fingers.
The two were both completely undressed, lips locked and hands exploring blindly.
He attempted to flip them over, but before he could Eden was already straddling his lap and lowering herself onto him—so he wasn't complaining.
"Oh god, Ethan," she moaned.
Ethan began thrusting his hips in time with her movements and kissing her neck, both of them lost in the feeling of one another.
"Fuck," he whined against her skin, her nails digging into the flesh of his biceps.
They were both overcome with such intense feelings as they finished that neither moved for two solid minutes.
"Shit, Eden," he let out a breathy laugh afterward as she got up to find clothes.
She was feeling a little tired, but couldn't walk to the bathroom naked when other people were home.
Having sex with a demon was a bucket list item she didn't even know she needed.
The scratches on Ethan began to slowly heal themselves as he stood and pulled her body flush with his. His lips lazily grazed her neck as she watched him in the mirror.
"Mm, Ethan," Eden sighed dreamily before moving away from him. "Later, maybe. I think I need a nap first."
He felt himself grinning involuntarily as she left to go to the bathroom.
It was a different experience for Ethan. He hadn't really ever hooked up with a mortal before, he was never interested. And he usually liked to be more in control—but he somehow didn't mind ignoring both of those for her.
She came back to Ethan fully dressed, fixing the hair around his horns.
"I've gotta head out, sweetheart. But... tomorrow?"
"I've got a lot of schoolwork and actual work the next few days but if I find any free time I'll call for you," Eden hummed, small pout on her lips. "If you don't hear from me much, I'll definitely be free next week."
"That's so far away," he complained. For someone who was a few thousand years old, a week would fly by. He was just dramatic.
Eden laughed as he left, finding herself falling asleep within minutes.
She luckily managed to wake up early enough to take a shower before work. She passed out and slept like a rock after everything that happened with Ethan.
Daphne finds her eating a muffin in the kitchen, a smirk growing on her face.
"Ethan, huh?"
"Shut up," Eden groaned. "It's nothing serious."
Daphne gave a once-over. "But you like him, don't you?" Eden had to think about her response carefully for a minute.
"Yeah, I think I do." She found herself smiling before wiping it off her face. "But it wouldn't work out. There's... too many obstacles," her lips were pursed as she thought about him. "I should leave for work."
Daphne sighed and watched her roommate leave abruptly. She was stubborn.
Eden was right though. Ethan was a demon, that was never going to end well. She'd start to age and change and he'd stay exactly the same.
But that didn't mean she had to stop seeing him already. They could have a fling... she could enjoy herself for a while. And then when things got boring, or too complicated, they could stop and never see each other again.
It didn't stop her from thinking about him though.
A/N
this is only chapter 3 but I feel like I've written like 20 chapters. not in word length, in development between characters and relationships. but there's still so much coming.
they're moving fast, obviously, but it's for good reason ;)
also, Grayson and a mortal? tsk tsk.
I've actually been playing around with the idea of writing a spin-off kind of story about Grayson and the mortal he was into. Too much story there to fit it into here, especially since this isn't about Grayson
anyway here's chapter three, i hope y'all enjoyed