holy

x

the sound of brett's scared, lost voice made that feeling come back to eddy, and it was so strong that he felt as if he had no choice but to be by brett's side again.

eddy looked warily at the archangel as he walked nearer to brett, ensuring that gabriel didn't have any more holy water in the vial. although he was able to help brett, eddy still didn't trust him.

"i'm here," eddy said reassuringly, sitting down in one of the lavish chairs next to the couch. the soft tone of his voice startled gabriel, who, for heaven's sake, couldn't figure out why the demon and the angel were so... civil. and civil was an understatement—it seemed as if the demon cared for brett. it was bizarre and new, and gabriel didn't understand it.

brett recognized his surroundings immediately. the bright, fresh, sweet air, the pale creams colors around him, and the fluffy white clouds outside—he was home.

and eddy was there.

"why are you here?" brett asked eddy, concerned. he knew that he probably wouldn't last a second in hell, and he couldn't imagine how eddy was holding up.

"you were dying. i brought you." eddy said flatly.

the two angels flinched at the mentions of death. angels didn't just die—ever.

the archangel cleared his throat.

"brett."

brett jumped at the sound of the archangel's voice.

"archangel gabriel!" he bowed his head in respect, "my apologies."

gabrield moved to sit behind his desk again, staring intently at brett as he turned back around.

"when the archangels and i told you to try new things on earth, we did not mean that you should get involved with demons," he spat the word out, "so what happened?"

eddy snarled at the disrespect.

"i told you what happened, archangel," he snapped, hands gripping the armrests of the expensive chair, "he drank alcohol, and got sick."

"but surely not on purpose, no?" gabriel asked quizzically, insinuating that eddy was the one to poison brett.

eddy's eyes burned red.

"a human spiked his drink. i took care of it." eddy answered sharply, leaning in closer to gabriel's desk.

meanwhile, brett cringed at eddy's rising voice, not enjoying the mix of angel-peacefulness and demon-tension in the room.

"'took care of it', so you killed him?" gabriel asked carefully.

"of course i killed him, stupid angel," eddy muttered, standing up and pacing about the room. he felt incredibly uneasy, as if he were back in his angel-scented apartment but a hundred times worse, and it certainly didn't help that the archangel was angering him. and the persistent worry that he was going to die still lingered in the back of his mind.

"how do i know that you aren't the one who drugged him, then?" gabriel egged eddy on, standing up so as to seem more threatening.

eddy was getting to that stage of blinding, red hot anger. he didn't know if it was because he was being called a liar, or if it was because gabriel was accusing him of hurting brett. either way, eddy was mad.

"i didn't do it," he gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, "brett can tell you himself."

brett looked at the two of them, wide eyed.

"but if you're the one who drugged him, you could be convincing him to do anything. he could lie to me right now."

there was an eerie silence in the large room, and no one moved.

then, the slow tap of eddy's shoes as he rounded the desk resonated on the marble floors.

eddy stood in front of the defiant archangel, towering over him.

"i didn't. fucking. do it."

"liar."

then eddy snapped.

it was too fast for brett to catch, and too sudden for gabriel to brace himself for. in seemingly milliseconds, the archangel was thrown across the room, slamming into the stone pillar, a resounding crack of the marble snaking its way towards the ceiling.

the situation was so tense that it seemed as if the room itself was holding its breath.

eddy stood still in the center of the room, fists clenched, chest heaving up and down, and with blood-red irises.

brett almost let out a whimper in fear. he had only seen eddy this angry one other time, and it was the night they first met.

the rational part of eddy's brain screamed at him to stop as he took slow steps towards the archangel, who sat in shock on the floor, bits of stone and rubble surrounding him. deep within the corners of his mind, he knew that harming an angel was nearly as bad as killing one, and if he wasn't going to die for brett's illness, he definitely was for throwing the archangel against the wall.

but the demon part of eddy, the one that lusted for justice and thirsted for control, had no time for logic or reasoning. he was out for blood.

he ran his tongue over his sharpened teeth, picking up gabriel by the collar of his crisp white suit.

despite the fact that they were angels, both gabriel and brett recognized the look on eddy's face. he was ready to kill.

just as his large hand wrapped around the archangel's neck, a soft voice broke through eddy's demon-blinded rage.

"stop." brett's small, honey smooth voice pierced the air. it was shaky, unsure, afraid, but it was enough to get eddy to remove his hand from gabriel's neck, although he still held him up by the shirt collar like a puppet.

"stop, eddy." again, this time a little firmer.

eddy took a deep breath and closed his eyes. when he opened them again they were back to their normal shade of black, and he released his grip on gabriel.

gabriel watched in pure amazement as the demon dropped him back to the floor. he'd expected a violent reaction out of the demon, but not one quite as ruthless as that. he certainly didn't expect the demon to bend at the command of an angel. but that already told him everything he needed to know—there was something between the two of them, whether it be a curse or simply just fate, and he wasn't smart enough to figure it out on his own.

it felt as if eddy wasn't in control of his body as he stepped away from the archangel. the fire that had raged within him just seconds before had been blown out like a mere birthday candle, and he felt relaxed, calm even. it was such a strange and unfamiliar feeling that he didn't think he could just write it off as being a side effect of heaven. no, there was something else. or someone.

"well," the archangel huffed, brushing dust off of his suit, "in that case—" gabriel busied himself with scribbling down a letter on a piece of parchment with a feather pen that looked all too stereotypical. eddy's urge to kill him had come back with a newfound vengeance but it only took one pleading look from brett for him to back down. it was pathetic, really, but eddy couldn't bring himself to do otherwise.

"—we must go to the council."

eddy's heart stopped at the sound of that word.

the council.

gabriel had basically signed his death certificate.

the council, a collection of the archangels that included a direct descendant of god himself, was responsible for, amongst other things, dealing with conflict between heaven and hell.

they would kill him for his crimes.

"no," eddy said firmly, a touch of fear in his tone, "we're not going."

"well, demon, it's either that, or brett dies," gabriel finished writing his letter with a flourish, and with a snap, sent it to disintegrate in the air.

"make your choice."

it wasn't an ultimatum. eddy only had one choice.