Eden packed her bags, making sure she wasn't forgetting anything important she would need for a few days.
She'd decided to head home for spring break after all, just a little late. It'd probably be about three or four day at home, which was better than nothing at all. But she wasn't actually leaving today, just an early packer.
Ethan popped in, whistling and grabbing her by the hand to turn her around.
He went to kiss her, but she stopped him short. His appearance was, well, a huge mess honestly.
White angel blood soaked his black shirt and was splattered onto his skin. It looked like he'd massacred an entire group of them.
"Ah, shit sorry. All better," Ethan grinned sharply, changing clothes and getting rid of the blood with a snap of his fingers. "Payed our friend Zephyr a visit for a few hours today. Forgot to change,"
Now that the large amounts of angel blood were off, Eden noticed a large cut across Ethan's forearm as well as bruised and slit knuckles.
But of course right as she did he shrugged them off and they closed in front of her eyes.
"Get anywhere with him?"
"Not really. He revealed the energy source for the cloaking spell, which is some holy artifact they're hiding upstairs. But we're only a couple days in, I'll break him." He told her, pulling their bodies flush together.
Ethan leaned down to kiss her, and she gladly kissed back. They saw each other last night, but it felt like too long ago.
He slipped one hand under her shirt, moving so he was hovering over her on the bed.
"Mm, Ethan," she giggled against his lips, but he kept kissing. "Hey, I was hoping—" he smirked and continued to shut her up, "that we could go out tonight instead."
Ethan sighed exasperatedly.
"Oh calm down, it's not like we haven't hooked up three times in the last two days or anything." Eden teased. Ethan didn't mind them not doing anything, he was just messing with her. "Anywhere in mind or should I pick?"
"Let's catch a show, there's a small concert going down tonight," of course, they wouldn't really be formally attending.
Ethan brought her in the back door and then upstairs to a secret room, filled with, well, demons. She should've expected something like this.
They could hear the music really well, but were able to just sit in a corner by themselves which was exactly what they needed.
Until some demons came to bother them.
Two black-eyed, one blue, sat down opposite of them with intrigued smiles.
The female, with blue eyes, was checking Ethan out. The other two had mischievous smiles on their unsettling features.
"Amethyst," Ethan nodded politely, instinctively placing his arm around Eden. "Zach, Jaro. What's up?" Ethan, being a red-eyed demon, obviously held some sort of power over them.
"Is this that little mortal pet you've been rumored to be sleeping with?" Amethyst giggled twirling her hair. "She's cute... for a human."
Jaro slid in directly next to Eden, teeth barred. "She'd make a great snack."
"Think we could borrow her when you're done?" Zach laughed deeply, none of them taking note of Ethan's narrowed eyes.
The three were intrigued by mortals, but Amethyst really just wanted Ethan.
"I am not his pet, and you can't borrow me." She scoffed, pushing Jaro away. They just snickered.
"You're feisty, huh?" Zach smirked. "I can picture it now—you'd be such a great chew toy in Hell. Long hours of me torturing you, hearing you scream and beg for it to be over... calling out Ethan's name as if he'd care enough to help you."
As Eden glanced over, Amethyst was getting closer to Ethan, but he looked about to snap.
Amethyst had a history of hitting on Ethan, but he'd never been interested before. And he sure as hell wasn't interested now.
Jaro and Zach were taunting Eden, but keeping their distance since she kept shoving them away. But that, in combination with Amethyst leaning into Ethan's neck to kiss it led him to explode.
He stood up lightning fast, hand wrapped around her throat. Jaro and Zach and every demon nearby turned to watch.
"You're embarrassing yourself. I think you need some time in the Pit."
Eden watched carefully as he threw her forcefully into the floor, but as her body disappeared she never hit it.
The Pit was, to put it gently, the worst place a demon could end up. It was where they were punished for breaking rules—and since Ethan held rank over her, he could send her there without a second thought.
"Jaro, Zach, unless you want to end up with her, back away from the mortal."
They didn't need to be told twice.
One of the yellow-eyed demons nodded in admiration at Ethan's decision, but everyone who wasn't as high-ranking avoided eye contact with both him and Eden out of fear.
And honestly, Eden liked it. She liked being around someone so powerful, because it made her feel the same.
"Feeling a little protective tonight, hm?" Eden hummed against his jaw as she kissed it.
"Someone had to put them in their place." Ethan told her, placing his hands on the side of her face to pull her in. They got lost in sound of music from below and the taste of each other's lips.
The one yellow-eyed demon in the place, Kazan, found himself curious. He wandered over and sat across from them.
As he cleared his throat, they jumped apart and took note of his eye color.
"Ethan," He nodded politely and then turned to Eden. "I don't believe we've been introduced. I'm Kazan." The demon held his hand out to her.
She gave a short introduction, but ultimately let Ethan take over. He was concerned, but didn't show it.
Eden was busy thinking about his name. Some demons sound like something from the Bible, others sound like normal humans. Perhaps not their true name, just a preferred one?
"She's a mortal, is she not?"
Ethan thought about it for a moment. He could try and get away with a lie, say she was cloaked because she was hiding from someone, or he could own up to it. It was a serious offense, but it seemed Kazan knew the answer already.
"...yes, sir."
This was the first time Eden had seen him so serious, almost timid. He knew exactly how to behave not to get in trouble.
"Good call," the demon whispered. "I won't rat you out, but you should be more careful. You've got a lot of people talking lately. When you're as powerful as you are, you know that'll happen." Both of them felt a weight off their shoulders. "I like what you've been doing lately. You've been getting more results than anyone else, and you're trying hard. If you need to fornicate with some... mortal toy for those results, fine. As long as you don't get attached, and keep up with your work. But be more careful, boy."
Eden was getting a little sick of being called a toy, referred to as less than.
That's just how demons viewed mortals. Disposable. Play things. Souls waiting to be collected. Most had lost all traces of their humanity a long time ago.
"Oh, and do me a favor—don't go soft. You let those two low-levels go with a goddamn warning." Kazan's eyes narrow.
"Yeah I... didn't want to do it here. Next time I will."
"Going soft, for a mortal of all things, will ruin us." Kazan left with another nod, and Ethan went back to his boisterous and cocky self the second they were in the clear.
His serious act was, well, nothing more than an act. If he needed to behave while talking to superiors he would, but it sure as hell didn't reflect him at all.
Ethan's red eyes rolled to the back of his head and came up normal again. There was a smile on his face as he looked at Eden.
"Let's go to Paris."
"Um, what?" She asked, laughing lightly. He wanted to visit another continent?
"It's morning in Paris right now. Let's go, I can take you to one of my favorite cafe's for breakfast."
Eden shrugged, smiling at him. "What the hell? Let's do it," and they were off.
So they ended up in the heart of Paris, Ethan leading her around as if he were a local. He used to come here all the time, but it'd been a few years since the last. He still knew the streets like the back of his hand.
He brought her to a small, but packed corner cafe where one of the waitresses seemed to recognize him. She pulled him in for a hug as they caught up momentarily, Eden standing to the side with a confused smile.
They were communicating completely in French, so she had no clue what was happened.
Since when was he fluent in French?
She sat them down at a table by the window, greeting Eden politely and leaving to get them drinks. Eden raised her eyebrows at him.
"Sorry, I didn't know she'd be here. She used to help out when she was... 13? It's family owned. I used to come all the time and she'd always be here. But it's been a few years since the last time," he hummed, watching her cross her arms. "She was 13, Eden. Are you jealous?"
So maybe she was a little jealous, irrationally so, but still. She couldn't understand a word that was said, but it looked flirty.
Eden purses her lips and shakes her head though, pushing past it.
"Not that it means anything but she was telling me she was glad to see me, and that she was just about to get off and go meet her boyfriend. Now, what're you getting?"
She cheered up pretty quickly after that, especially after drinking some coffee. Ethan ordered for the both of them in French to keep it simple.
Eden would typically be asleep, so her body definitely needed a pick me up. She was usually pretty good at keeping up with Ethan, due to adrenaline or something else, so sometimes he forgot. But the coffee re-energized her fast.
Despite not even needing to eat, Ethan ordered a huge meal. A large stack of pancakes, avocado toast, and a yogurt parfait.
Eden teased him at first, until he let her try some of it.
She'd just gotten a croissant to go with her coffee but found herself stealing multiple bites off of Ethan's plate.
"You could order more, y'know."
"No thanks," she shrugged, grinning as she stole another bite of his pancakes.
"Always so stubborn," he groaned playfully. Truth be told he didn't really care, she was the one who actually needed to eat.
After breakfast, they decided to walk around the city for a while. Eden was taking it all in.
Ethan, knowing the city, was having more fun watching her than anything. She was excited about every little thing.
They picked up a few things from shops, mostly pastries though. They were gone before they left Paris—the Macarons were to die for.
And then they were standing in her room again, like it was nothing.
"I should probably check in with Zephyr. Can I swing by after?" Ethan asked, holding her face in his hands.
"...can I come with?"
She'd completely forgotten anything she should be doing in favor of accompanying him. It sounded much more fun anyway.
"To Hell? Eden, that's for sure not happening." He shook his head at her and stepped back. Was she crazy? She wanted to go to Hell to watch him interrogate an angel? It was hard enough getting a mortal inside there, never mind letting her help with something that serious. She threw her head back before looking back to him with a pout. "No. Absolutely not."
"Maybe I could help. You're not making too much progress on your own. It won't hurt," if someone found out it could hurt a lot.
"Eden," Ethan said, grabbing her shoulders and making deep eye contact. He let his own eyes burn red. "You're not going to Hell. Not today, not ever."
"So I'm not going to Hell when I die? I thought you didn't know," she raised her eyebrows.
Ethan may have done some snooping around behind the scenes after seeing her for a while. She was currently slated for Heaven.
That was surprising, actually, considering her contact with him.
"You're not coming with."
Eden crossed her arms and stared him down. She was stubborn and not backing off.
He knew better than to stay and fight about it though—so he left.
She let out a scream of frustration. She was involved in this, and didn't understand why he was still trying to keep her away.
It was way too late to pretend she wasn't. And sure, maybe it wasn't smart to bring her to Hell, but she wanted to be part of it. Despite the danger.
Ethan didn't want to bring her partially because of that, there was a risk bringing her around other demons. Another reason was that he didn't particularly want to expose her to that kind of thing, or let her help.
Plus... he could get in a lot of trouble if his boss found out. Low-level demons wouldn't care, but Dagon sure as hell would.
The possibility of her being killed on the spot if any high-ranking demon saw her was too high for comfort.
But Eden didn't really care, and wasn't thinking about that. She waited about five minutes before calling him back.
"Ethan!" She screamed, sounding scared. "Ethan, please! Help!"
"What's wro— come on, Eden." He snapped when realizing she was fine, just baiting him.
Her lips curved into an innocent smile, not needing to say anything. Ethan knew exactly what she called for.
He shook his head, eyes burning, which didn't even startle her anymore. Last time he said no he gave in, and things turned out mostly fine. Other than her memory being wiped, but Ethan fixed that quickly.
"You're such a brat," he muttered, grabbing her arm roughly. "Let's fucking go."
They were standing in an empty field within seconds, right in front of a strange door in the ground.
She didn't say a word as she followed him down what felt like hundreds of stairs. He couldn't port them to the bottom?
"Mortals have to go through the gate their first time. It moves all the time, but today it's here." He tells her, subconsciously interlocking their fingers as they reach the bottom.
It was hot. Like, much hotter than she was used to.
Of course, it made sense, but Eden had kind of been hoping that the stories got it wrong.
A black-eyed demon watched them as they approached, taking in Ethan's horns and Eden's lack thereof.
"She's with me. It's for a personal deal—keep your mouth shut."
The demon nodded and pulled out a small metal stamp-looking-thing. Ethan watched without warning as the demon took it and used it to mark Eden's hand like it were some club.
Only, it was a branding iron, as in the metal was burning hot.
She squeezed her eyes shut and chewed the inside of her cheek to keep from crying out in pain. There was barely time to look at it afterward before it disappeared into her skin.
Afterward they were able to walk through the gates just fine. "A warning would've been nice," Eden grumbled, seeing him chuckle.
"You were a brat, you didn't deserve one."
She rolled her eyes as he brought them to the end of a dim hallway, an iron door in front. It all felt very cliche, but she was intrigued nonetheless.
Ethan pulled a key from his pocket and unlocked the door, revealing Zephyr.
He was chained to the wall, covered in his own blood and sweat. He looked exhausted and was still covered in more minor wounds that were having trouble closing on their own.
That was due to Ethan making sure they wouldn't, so he'd suffer the whole time he was alone.
Of course, he was still in Adam's body.
It was odd seeing him like that, but she knew it wasn't Adam. He might be in there somewhere, but it wasn't truly him.
People at school had assumed Adam left for spring break early. If he didn't show up after, there might be a problem. That was partially why Eden wanted to help today, to hopefully get the information and get him out of Adam's body.
"Really?" Zephyr coughed, eyes flashing white for a second. He didn't have enough power to prolong the effect. "You brought her to Hell?"
Ethan kept quiet as he shut the door behind them, Eden venturing further in the room.
There was an array of tools scattered about, some of them looking way worse than others. Most had blood on them.
"Anything new to tell me?" Ethan hummed, picking up one of the weapons.
"Fuck off," the angel spit.
Ethan didn't waste a second, whipping a spiked club into him with incredible force. Several holes on his body began spilling blood.
Angels couldn't actually be killed by any of these tools, so he'd just perpetually bleed and be in pain.
His body was working at maximum speed to try and heal his wounds and make more blood, which left him feeling extra exhausted.
"Can I help?"
Ethan's eyes widened, but he stepped back and let Eden survey the weapons.
He watched closely as she picked up a long, sharp iron rod. She felt a little nervous, but it didn't show.
Eden oddly didn't feel bad. Was she supposed to? He spied on her, and was withholding information that could be vital.
She motioned for Ethan to heat up the iron, and kept it up until it was red-hot.
With a smile, she rested it on Zephyrs chest. He screamed in pain as it began to melt through the skin.
She slowly pushed the sharp tip of it through his chest and shoulder, cries getting louder.
Ethan stood and watched, and he couldn't help but find it attractive. She looked powerful, and without a care in the world. It wasn't what he was expecting from her, especially as she'd never done this before.
Fire on the outside of his body was painful, but it was a completely different experience feeling that heat on the inside. Angels weren't made to feel that kind of sensation—it was so hot it was boiling the blood the second it touched the iron rod.
"Please!" Zephyr yelled out, the tip of the blade coming out the other side of his shoulder.
"Why should I stop?"
"Angels have—have been tailing demons! High-ranking ones! I can tell you who!" That caught their attention.
It wasn't their endgame, but it was important information. Ethan came closer to heal the shoulder wound himself as she removed the iron rod.
The healing was just a little bit of motivation to give them more information after.
Zephyr gave them about 15 names total, a combination of yellow, blue, and even a couple of red-eyed demons that were targets.
Ethan wrote down each of the names for later, and then turned back to Eden.
"Okay, why have they been tailing them?" She hummed, picking up a whip.
Eden whipped the wall as a test and it lit up with fire. She let out a low whistle as it did—that thing was cool.
"I—I... Eden. Please, this isn't you," Zephyr pleased. As she got ready to use it, he stopped her. "Wait! Why don't you talk to Adam? I think I'm ready for a break."
That really put a damper on their plans.
The halo over his head disappeared and gut-wrenching cries of pain immediately came out of Adam.
Zephyr was hesitant to let it happen before, because he wasn't supposed to let Adam get hurt. But he was testing her. And knew she wouldn't let Ethan kill him.
He was still bleeding white since his body still had an angel in it, but he felt all the pain.
"Eden, what's going on?" Adam sobbed. His entire body burned. "Let me go!"
"This got boring." Ethan yawned, stepping in front of him. "Get the angel back out here. You know he's still in there. I will kill you if he doesn't come back."
Despite the fact that it wasn't his blood leaking, stabbing him in the heart of the head would still kill him. And then it'd just be Zephyr with no one to hide behind. Of course, he wouldn't actually kill Adam. At least not yet, but a threat worked wonders sometimes.
"Eden, please! What's wrong with you?"
"Get the angel, Adam." She sighed, refusing to make eye contact.
He tried his hardest. Unintelligible begging to both Zephyr and Eden as he bleed, but no answer.
At least, not until Ethan went to stab him.
Zephyr came back and announced his presence with a flash of white eyes and a halo.
He went to plead to Ethan about how they used to be family. He wanted to say he didn't have to do this, that it wasn't worth it, but Eden used the whip before he could.
It left an oddly burnt gash on the skin; that's what Ethan had been hit with a while back.
Zephyr panted, but was unable to come up with anything to say. He refused to give anymore information, but didn't know what to do.
Luckily for him, someone interrupted.
"Ethan." Dagon said from behind. Shit, his boss definitely knew. "Come with me for a moment."
Ethan gave a half wave to Eden as he walked out into the hallway, being met with an immediate backhand. Not too painful of course, but he was in trouble.
"First, you help a mortal without making a deal. Then, you continue to see her, don't do anything to fix your mistake, sleep with her, and now you've brought her here?" Someone had told him everything. And that was not good at all.
Ethan felt actually nervous, which was rare.
While he was dealing with that, Eden waited awkwardly. She wasn't sure if she should keep going without him.
"Dagon, wait," Ethan said slowly, trying to come up with an excuse. "She's helping, I swear. She got information from him. I'm still working toward fixing that mistake, but Zephyr knows something big."
His boss thought for a moment. It was true, but extremely unconventional.
Not to mention, Ethan should be killed for how many rules he'd broken. But he was lucky; he was powerful, and knew what he was doing.
Dagon's yellow eyes glared in response.
"So you're saying the mortal is better at torture than you?"
"No! She just—she has a connection with the mortal he's possessing. I've been guiding her."
"Ethan, despite your inability to follow protocol, I will trust you to get results. The angels are not happy with her being near you. Your brother was the one who contacted me." Ethan was going to kill Grayson.
"Does he know we have Zephyr?" He asked, crossing his arms. Ethan felt a little more secure now.
"He does not. I assume he will find out. Now get back to work." Dagon pointed, and Ethan went to head back in. "And Ethan—if you don't get results and make up for your mistakes and more, you and the girl will suffer."
He knew that, but he was in too deep to back out now. It was time to double down.
Ethan didn't spill to Eden until after they arrived back at her apartment. Not in front of Zephyr.
She wasn't scared though, she trusted him however crazy it sounded.
Eden knew they were getting somewhere.
Her good feeling spread to both of them, despite hearing that Grayson had ratted them out. Ethan thought it was below him.
Sure, they fought, but they were brothers. Brothers in a way none of the other angels could be.
And Grayson knew what could happen if he said something. But he said it anyway.
Eden didn't feel particularly betrayed, but it solidified her belief that she was right not to trust Grayson. Or any angels for that matter.
Her phone went off as Ethan kissed her, buzzing with a text that made her realize just what time it was.
Mom: We cant w8 2 c u!!
Mom: b here soon rite?
She'd forgotten she was supposed to go home. Her mom's parent-texting style would usually be comforting, but not right now.
She hadn't slept in forever, it was Thursday night, and was supposed to be hours away. Ethan was really distracting, evidently. Luckily, she packed in advance.
"Shit... Ethan, I'm supposed to be home. Like right now."
"Grab your bag, I'll bring you. And I can get you whenever you're ready," he reassured her. After getting her parents address, he brought her right to the doorstep.
"God, is there anything you can do to make me less tired? I'm totally crashing," she giggled quietly, glad she brought a coat. It was chilly.
Ethan rolled his eyes with a smile. "That's not one of my tricks, unfortunately."
Eden shook her head and released her suitcase handle to pull his face down to hers.
"I'll see you in a few days, okay?"
He hummed as she pulled his lips to hers, savoring every second of the kiss. They'd only be apart for 4 days at most, but were used to seeing one another more often.
"Eden! I thought I heard you," Her mother said as she opened the door, noticing her and Ethan kissing. "Oh! Who's this?"
A/N
dummies
ethan is uhhh kinda in some shit, hope he works that out soon
hope everyone had a happy halloween if you celebrate!!
im really enjoying writing this story like so much more than i should tbh, it's so fun for me and i love Ethan and Eden
this is my first story where ethan is like not an asshole (y'know kinda) and it's so weird but i love writing a lot of him just being cocky but caring ig???? idk i just really like everything about this story
also I've been getting so many story ideas lately and i have NO IDEA where to start with them :(((( but i wanna write them all and it's a struggle. I've got a bad cold rn though so I've been working on a few of them