Temptation 4

 Elly was wiping down a counter in the kitchen a few days later when she heard a light tapping at her door. She walked over and peered out the decorative glass on top, wondering who it could be. 

A tall, blond man wearing white and gold was standing there holding a colorful bunch of flowers. She blinked and unlatched the door.

"Hizashi?"

"Hi!" The angel waved sheepishly at her, holding out a bouquet of flowers. "I, err, brought you these."

"Wow, you knocked like a regular person. I mean, uh, come in. Yeah." She held the door open and he kicked off his sandals on the mat.

"I wanted to apologize for the other night." He watched as she grabbed a glass to put the flowers in. "I shouldn't have startled you by showing up like that. We have problems with people believing who we are a lot, so, ya know, the whole wings and light thing usually convinces them."

Elly shrugged and gestured for him to have a seat on the couch. "I was more angry that it was right after I met Shota. Twice in one night was too much. I still think I might be going insane."

He jerked his head around, his green-gold eyes hardening the faintest bit at the mention of the incubus. "Is here here..?"

"He's napping in the bed. Since I've got the weekend off we decided to go out for dinner. I guess he was up all day watching over me when I slept, so he needed a rest."

"He's living with you." It was not a question.

Elly nodded anyway. "Well, yes. He wouldn't leave and I couldn't call the cops or anything. He just vanishes!"

"That's why I'm here." He smiled radiantly at her.

"And, you know, he might swear a lot but he hasn't tried anything. He's been nicer to me than most humans have."

Hizashi grimaced. "It's a trick they use to get you to let your guard down. Please be careful."

"I'm always careful." She set her feet up on the coffee table and tapped her toes together a few times. "And you're enemies. Of course you would say that."

He laughed quietly, a melodic sound that caused her to turn towards him. Their eyes met, and he was startled to see that she met his gaze evenly. "I know Shota better than you think," he told her, placing his fingertips on one side of her hair. He briefly stroked the purple tresses as he continued, tilting his head as he spoke. "I don't hate him. But he does want to engage in relations with you that may take you down a dark path."

"Dark path," she scoffed. "Ha! Seriously, if I was going to be a sex-depraved axe murderer I'd have been one by now. Anyway, I'm surprised I'm not with all the crazy crap I've put up with over the years."

Hizashi took his hand away to cover his mouth. His words were slightly muffled but he kept talking. "I'm sorry. I wish I could have been there when you needed me. It's - it's heartbreaking to think of you not having anywhere to turn or hope. I'm so, so sorry." He bent his head and she sighed deeply, staring at him for a long time. After a few silent minutes, however, she nodded.

"I know you're being honest. I also know it's not your fault. You go where you're told. It's like me as a kid. If I did as they told me, it wouldn't be so bad. Except... they had invisible rules, too, and I'd still get in trouble. Like I '<i>should have known better</i>' at five years old. Really?" She sighed more harshly and shook her head. "Zashi?"

He refused to look up and she poked him lightly on the shoulder. "Hey, sunshine boy. What's got into y -"

His chin lifted and she saw his eyes were filled with tears, his lower lip caught adorably between his teeth.

"Oh <i>no</i>, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. Can I get in trouble for making an angel cry?" She suddenly cringed, looking up at the ceiling. "Is that - is that a sin or something?"

He shook his head vigorously. "No, oh no. You're not in trouble. And you didn't hurt me on purpose. I'm doing it because I feel your pain."

"Shit," she muttered. Looking at his face was akin to staring too long at a puppy. She was losing control; all she wanted was to hold and be held, to gain the comfort he so desperately wanted to give her. But a tiny part of her still resisted - the part that whispered that he wasn't sincere. The part that reminded her of her biological father's indifference, her step-father's hatred, and more.

That part sucked, and she knew rationally that not all men were bad. And yet...

"I can't leave you, little one," he whispered. "You're living with a demon, and you need my help in more ways than that. Plus, you named me. I..." He looked off into the distance, oddly blushing. "No one's ever done that before."

"Hey!" As if on cue to break the awkward moment, Shota poked his head out of a wall nearby with a curious eyebrow raised. His hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail with pieces of it dangling down past his scruffy cheeks. "Can angels get bound to humans like we can?"

Hizashi's lips thinned. "I'm not telling <i>you</i> anything."

He shrugged, nonchalant. "Fair enough."

Elly stamped one foot on the floor. "Don't I get a say in this? Besides, there's no room left! Shota sleeps on the couch."

Hizashi squinted at a corner of the room, and bowed his head, murmuring for a moment. It sounded like he was asking a question more like praying, and suddenly a person-sized clump of comfortable, cottony cloud puffed into existence. A suspicious ray of sunlight from the window spilled through and lit it up from underneath.

Shota slapped a palm on his forehead with a groan. "Where's the choir, pretty boy? Doesn't that go with?"

"Oh, I thought that might be a bit ostentatious," the angel murmured with a sly smile. "My friend that specializes in these doesn't sing, anyway."

Shota stared at the cloud, frowning as Hizashi started showing it off, encouraging her to pet it to see how it felt. The demon slunk back into the wall with a low snarl. "That's a dirty trick, you feathered fuck. I won't forget it."

Hizashi didn't hear him. He was too busy lifting Elly up onto the cloud. Once he did, she squealed with pure, unadulterated joy. It was softer than anything she had ever felt before and parts of it could be manipulated into a blanket and pillow. She bounced a few times and then peered over the edge.

He was watching her with a smile damn near softer than what she sat on. Elly blinked down at him, noticing the faint light emanating from his figure.

"Hizashi? You're glowing."

"Oops." He coughed and the light dimmed. "I, uh, that's embarrassing. I guess your happiness made me forget where I was for a moment." He helped her down, setting her carefully on the floor.

"Do you glow when you're happy?"

"Something like that." He blushed a little, the bridge of his nose turning pink. "I'm supposed to be able to control it better."

Shota strolled out from the hallway wearing nothing but a bath towel around his hips. "He's probably horny."

Elly looked, then clapped her hands over her eyes, her face flaming. "Shota!"

"What? I'm covered." His skin was damp, evidence of a hasty shower. Water trapped in droplets in the dark hair on his chest and dripping down his sculpted abdomen.

"You're not," Hizashi gritted through clenched teeth. He turned Elly around so she couldn't peek. "And you're doing it on purpose, you depraved soul." He jerked his chin in the demon's direction and he was clothed in a dark turtleneck and jeans.

"Ugh, what the hell?!" Shota dug frantically at the collar, tugging it down. "You seriously covered up my <i>neck</i>, too? What is wrong with you angelic prudes?!"

"You won't be seducing her on my watch."

Shota tore the offending shirt off and threw it at him. Hizashi made as if to grab it... and <i>screeched</i> so loudly Elly let out a shriek of fright herself. The turtleneck morphed into a huge tarantula which was skittering towards him. He leaped across the room, wings unfurling to flap once and get him farther away faster.

Shota snapped his fingers at the spider, causing it to dissappear in a cloud of black smoke before Elly saw it.

What she <i>did</i> see when she turned around was Shota smirking with one hand in the air, bare chested with only a pair of jeans on and no shoes. Hizashi was clinging to the wildly swinging light fixture in her kitchen, the blades on the ceiling fan spinning him slowly around. His eyes were giant and he was shaking violently.

"Have a strong premonition I'm not gonna get my security deposit back on this place," she sighed.