Loving an Asset

Shyne patiently awaited Tobias' response, but after what feels like over a minute passed, she pressured him more.

"Well, what's your answer?" She questioned.

Tobias didn't respond, causing her to walk into his space until she was almost pressing her nose into his.

"If you don't tell me what's going on between you two, I'll make out with you right now. So, what's your response?"

Tobias' face turned tomato red. He jumped sideways to get space between them.

"We're a couple! So you can stop standing on top of me like that!" He responded emphatically.

Shyne put her hand on her forehead with a soft smile. "If you'd just said so, I wouldn't have done it. But I get it, you want to protect her. I needed to know for your own safety too, demons aren't all upstanding."

"If she really wanted to do something to me, she's had four years to do it…but now I don't know if she'll trust me now."

"I'm not going to do anything. I don't like the fighting between Heaven and Hell. Everyone, no matter who or what they are can be redeemed. If a demon sees the light in you, then that reflects the light they have within themselves."

Tobias leaned against the wall behind him. "That's..very powerful, you're definitely an angel. But, I have a few questions now. What am I supposed to do? How do I introduce you both? And most of all, why was I chosen for this?"

"Goodness, I feel like I'm being interrogated. But allow me to answer. You were chosen because you know the damage done intimately based upon your history. Your job is to do whatever possible to reconnect people here to the ideals of Paradise. Now introducing me and your girlfriend, that's a tall task, even I wouldn't know."

"Great.."

-

As the day ended, Tobias reconnected with Zoey at the building's entrance. Zoey waited til they exited until she broke the ice.

"So. Tell me, what happened up there?"

Tobias rubbed his head, while avoiding eye contact with her.

"Well, I have good news, and I have bad news. What do you want to hear first?"

"You're doing it like this, huh? Fine, what's the good news?"

"Well the good news is that I'm the head of the Relations Department, meaning I'm going to restore the crumbling relationship between Paradise and the people of Chicago. By any means necessary, so that's my loophole of creating positive change."

"And th-" Zoey stopped her response as they heard multiple gunshots in the area.

"We should go to my place for now." She whispered quietly to him.

Zoey was more strategic with where she chose to live, opting to live near the richer, more protected high rises. They moved swiftly and kept their heads low, before they entered the gate to her place, located in a ten story building.

Her apartment has a much more lavish feel, it's twice as big as Tobias' with numerous higher tech amenities. It felt like you walked into a catalog, with the walls being lined with a sleek black that didn't make the whole place feel too dark. The oak floors are a dark brown making a good suit with the walls surrounding it.

Once the pair had gotten themselves inside, Zoey continued their conversation.

"What's the bad news Tobias?"

"Uh..ummm, you might not believe me. But this is something I'm really afraid to say because I don't know if you'll trust me. But…Paradise is a direct link to Heaven…they issued me an angel to help me."

Zoey's face made Tobias shiver for a moment because it has no expression. Her blank stare at him felt more uncomfortable than if she yelled at him.

She grabbed his hand tightly, pulling him along to the couch and sat them both down.

"Zoey, please just say something!"

"Dear, I don't want to say this, because you're someone I love and adore. But you might be the greatest asset to ever fall into my lap.

"Wait, what?!"

"Not the reaction you expected?"

She gently touched his cheek, guiding his head to face her eye to eye.

"You can give me intel on the angels and maybe even what God has planned. My desire is a simple one, I want to rebuild Hell's army to bring my mother back to her rightful place."

"Mother?"

"Ah, right. You don't know that who you know as the big red guy is actually a woman. Lots of false information passed down to make her seem intimidating and evil. But in the last massive fight we had almost thirty years ago, Luci was captured by the agents of Heaven, which has made things very disjointed since."

"That's understandable. But wait-!" Tobias jumped out of the couch in a sudden burst. "Hold on here, do you even realize the line of fire you're putting me in?! I'm basically putting my neck out for both sides to cut it! That's a death wish, Zoey."

She slowly got out of the couch, with an all too familiar dark aura surrounding her. She reached forward and yanked him back into her with an evil grin. "Tobias darling, you speak like someone knows. Did you perhaps say something you weren't supposed to?" She harshly responded with her voice sounding distorted.

"An angel followed us when you, and yes I said you, killed those guys. I had no choice or leverage. Does Shyne Melodia ring a bell?" He said with more confidence than he normally would.

She let him go, cackling away upon hearing who it was. "She's a true pacifist, thankfully. Because she's way too hard to kill. So, I'll ask you again, will you help me? I rebuild Hell, you rebuild Earth one city at a time, and leverage Heaven into coughing up Satan herself."

"I hate this new norm I'm living with, but if the world is this bad, with Paradise being backed by God, then there's something amiss. I have the craziest girlfriend, in a world corrupted, with Heaven looming over me, and Hell's embers grazing my feet."

"Only if you keep me alive. Otherwise, I might go up there and turn on you." He said pointing to the ceiling. His eyes looked into hers with intensity. "I'm already regretting saying that."

The Incarnate Zoey bared her sharp teeth at him, pushing him down into the couch once again. She quickly hopped onto his lap with her hands pressed into his shoulders. "I would never let you die on my watch, but if you betray me…I'll make your life, and afterlife worse than Hell itself." She leaned down and licked his cheek slowly, making his body shake from the feeling.

Gunshots echoed from every single direction possible, coupled with alarms blaring block by block outside. The night is lively in the worst way.

"It appears there's no end to tonight's violence, you should stay the night here and be safe. I wanted to keep you anyways." She smiles, as the black aura surrounds him, giving a weird feeling of warmth to his body.

"Yeah, hopefully I can do something and not make it a forced choice next time." He pulled her into a hug.

The couple, despite their differences, seem to have an unbreakable bond. A bond they hope they can maintain, no matter what happens.