E r o s

I don't like this.

I know Auntie Leila isn't a secretive person so it bothered me quite a bit that she wanted to talk to Cole in private. It was always something whenever I came to this house, it's why I mainly kept my communication to phone calls.

"Eros, you're impatient as ever. It's only been a few minutes" Alec was the first to point out my less than pleasant mood.

Alec was the second youngest of my aunt's children with Ray being the oldest and Carter obviously the youngest. They also had a sister, Karina who was older than Alec, but she didn't seem to be in at the moment.

"You know as well as I do that that woman does as she pleases. I'm just worried she might do something unnecessary" I said and Ray nodded in agreement.

"True, our mother is full of surprises" He said.

"That hag is fucking crazy" Carter grumbled. He was thrown in the room by Luci not too long ago and we were told to keep an eye on him. Not that we actually were but he hasn't tried to leave or anything anyways.

"Who taught you to swear like that? Honestly, this is why she's always on your case" Alec said and Carter rolled his eyes.

"I'm not gonna be molded into some perfect doll just cause she thinks it's 'proper'. I can be who I want without her stupid lessons" He said. We all looked at one another at his words.

"Can't believe some fourteen year old is holding out longer than us" Ray said.

While it is true that we all eventually crumbled under Auntie Leila's pressuring, it's not as if we saw it as us being dolls. She forced her ideals on to us because she thought it was what we needed in order to survive and as kids there wasn't much we could do about it, but that didn't really make the problematic side of it go away.

"Well it's not my fault you guys are pussies. Not you though Eros, just them" Carter said as he flashed an angelic smile at me.

Seeing his brothers offended looks only made me want to laugh. I'm not sure when Carter grew so attached to me but seeing as I was the only one who didn't baby him or scold him (because that's not my job), I could see why he'd want to be around me more.

"Your blatant favoritism is really hurtful" Ray said and Alec nodded.

"Yeah, we're your brothers for crying out loud, where's our love?" He said.

"Right here" Carter said while flipping a bird at the two.

"Brat" The two said in unison and Carter just kept his nose turned up.

Shaking my head, I turned to Ray.

"Where's Karina?" I asked.

"She's out with her friends. I doubt she's going to come back in time enough to see whatever scheme mother is planning" he said.

Just then, we heard the clacking of heels coming in our direction.

"Speak of the devil" Carter muttered.

As Auntie Leila walked over, I had quickly noticed that Cole wasn't with her and that bad feeling from earlier only resurfaced.

"Where is Cole?" I asked as I stepped up to her.

"With Luci" she said nonchalantly.

"What? Why?" I asked and the next words that came out of her mouth made me wish I'd ignored her calls just a bit longer.

"Because I've decided that he's going to show if he's really got what it takes to be your partner" she said and though the room was already quiet, it felt like the silence became deafening to me.

"You did what?" I said blankly, the disbelief hitting me hard as I tried to process what she was saying.

"Yes, he is going to have a little spar session with Luci and if he doesn't win, I suggest you get rid of him" she said as if she wasn't talking about the man I had feelings for. As if he was just something disposable, easily thrown away if deemed useless.

Please tell me I'm having a nightmare. This has to be some kind of joke. I couldn't, and I wouldn't, believe for one second that Auntie Leila had finally lost all her fucking marbles.

"Auntie Leila, I'm going to safely assume you're fucking with me because that's the only answer I'm going to take from you" I said but when she didn't burst into a fit of laughter and say she was joking, my heart continued to sink.

"I'm very serious" She said, so it was only right for me to become serious as well.

"What makes you think you have the right to give that kind of ultimatum to him?" I asked and I could feel my inner calm slipping from with each and every passing second this conversation continued.

"Eros, I've done everything I could to raise you as my own. Now, I'm not saying you owe your life to me but I am saying that I don't want to watch the life I raised be thrown away for some nobody" Auntie Leila's words left an annoying ringing sound in my ears.

It was scary how like-minded we were. I had thought the same thing back when first meeting Cole but since then I've learned that he isn't just some 'nobody'.

His loyalty was unyielding to whoever he gave it to, and even if he didn't have to, he's come around so much that it's surprising I only just met him a few months ago. But within that time, I've seen what he's capable of and that's not including his sort of scary ability to stay alive no matter what.

He was kind, even if it wasn't outright. He tended to show it in his own ways but you'd have to know him well enough to know it. I've seen that he can also be friendly, Harvey and Cole were practically joined at the hip whenever they're together. He also helps those he thinks are in need of it, and apparently from what he told me about what happened with Noel, he did it even if he didn't want to.

"Who I choose to give my life for is none of your business. Even if it wasn't your job, you raised me and I'm grateful for it but that's it, any further involvement is just me allowing you to be apart of my life" I said, my fists clenched at my sides in an attempt to keep my anger at bay.

"Well that's not how I see it. I should have some kind of obligated inclusion, especially when it comes to your life being on the line" she fired back and at that point, I didn't want to hear another word out of her mouth.

Walking past her, I headed to the only place they could be if she was talking about some kind of fight. It'd be the training room obviously.

"Eros!" Auntie Leila called from behind me but I ignored her as I continued making my way throughout the house.

When I finally made it, I saw Luci and Cole in the room, likely waiting on us.

"Cole, let's go" I said as I walked over to him, intending to take him home since I was too pissed off to stay here any longer.

Though before I could reach him, Luci stood between us. I gave him a glare but he stayed calm in the face of it.

"Lucifer, move" I demanded but he just shook his head.

"I can't do that and you know that. If this is what your aunt wishes, then that's what is going to happen" he said.

"And if you know what's good for you, you'll move" the tension in the air was thick and nothing could cut through it, not even the sharpest knife.

"Eros? What's going on?" Cole asked as he looked between us.

"We're going home" I said as I kept my eyes trained on Luci, daring him to try and stop us again.

"Eros, please" Luci said as he sighed.

"It's okay, Eros. I'll be fine" Cole said, his expression cool as usual but that was not the face I wanted to see from him.

Where was his anger? Frustration? Did he think this was okay?

"That's not the problem here, it's the terms that woman has you fighting under. Are you not bothered in the least by them?" I asked.

Cole looked away from me which only fueled my anger. He can't even answer me which means he knows this isn't right.

"I understand them...that's why I'm doing this" he said.

"If you understand them, then you can see that she's basing your worth on some ten minute fight. I don't know about you but that doesn't sit right with me one bit" I said and from the look on his face I could tell he felt he needed to do this.

That he needed to prove himself but he didn't.

"You don't have to feel like you need to prove yourself in any way. I didn't ask you to do that, nor do I want you to. I know you're worth much more than some stupid fight. Is that not enough for you?" I asked, looking at him and hoping he'll agree with me.

"Well, it's certainly enough for me" the voice from behind us had us all turning our heads.

Auntie Leila stood there with a smile on her face and she walked over to us, the smile never leaving. Alec, Ray, and Carter were following behind her as well.

"Well said, you really are one of my own" She said as she finally reached us.

"What?" I asked dumbly.

Luci had since moved out of the way and stood beside Auntie Leila, leaving Cole next to me.

"Sorry, I just wanted to see how serious you were. It was more of a test for you than for Cole but it worked either way" Auntie Leila said, giving a not so apologetic smile.

"A test of what? To see how fast I can get pissed off?" I asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion and lingering anger.

"No, no. Nothing of the sort. It's just that you've never brought anyone home before, even when I've pestered you too so I figured this man must be pretty important to you. My curiosity got the best of me" she said, giving an innocent giggle at the end.

Was this woman serious? I was so close to going off on her earlier and now she wants to tell me this is all some stupid fucking test to satiate her curiosity?

I need a drink.

"However Eros, sweetie, you were a bit too scary for my liking. I saw a little bit of the old you back there and thought you'd gained the inkling to shoot me" Auntie Leila said as she feigned a look of fright.

"...I should have" I said and Auntie Leila chuckled at that but my humor has long since left me.

"I'm not laughing" I said and her laughter stopped.

"Well, that's rich coming from Mr. Jokester himself. My apologies again for going so far" she said, tilting her head a bit as if she were confused by my anger.

"Honestly, if you really had taken my side, I would have stopped it. I had no real objections from the beginning, so there would be no reason to go through with it" she said but I didn't care for her explanations.

It still didn't sit right with me that she thought it would be okay to do this, even if it was out of curiosity.

"I told you this lady is fucking crazy didn't I?" Carter said and his brothers nodded in agreement.

"Mother, you can't just do things like that" Alec said as he pinched his bridge.

"Say what you want, but I think Cole has great potential. He agreed even though my proposal was a tad bit bizarre, it's kind of touching in a way. Eros, why not leave him here for a bit? I'd love to see what he's capable of" Auntie Leila said.

"Over my cold dead body" I said with a frown.

"How about it?" Auntie Leila ignored me and continued to look towards Cole.

"Sorry, I'm not really interested in staying here" Cole said with a shake of his head.

"Hmm, you're quite the loyal lap dog. It's a shame but I won't force you" she said, sighing in disappointment.

"We're still leaving" I said and Carter's head turned towards me so fast I could have sworn he'd got whiplash.

"What? That's not fair you haven't even been here that long!" Carter whined and Auntie Leila glared at him.

"Shut your trap you brat. What are you going to do about it with those sticks for arms? When you grow some muscle on that poorly thin body of yours then maybe you'll have a chance at actually objecting" she said haughtily and Carter just glared.

"Shut up you old hag, what does that even have to do with anything?! I should tell Dad that you're going around doing this shit!" He countered and Auntie Leila's glare turned deadly.

"If you ever say a word to my darling, I'll kill you" Auntie Leila said, eyes turning to slits as she glared at her son.

Their father, Theo, thought Auntie Leila was some kind of angel and pretty much worshipped the ground she walked on so he never really saw how annoying she can be. He loved her for her so I guess that's great and all but that can be frustrating at times too, especially for Carter who continuously tries to tell him that his wife is crazy.

"I'd like to see you try" Carter challenged and the two just continued to glare at one another.

"This is why I don't like coming here, it's always so loud" I said as I folded my arms.

"Are you really leaving?" Ray asked and I nodded.

"I don't want to be here right now, I'm still upset" I said and hearing that we were back on the topic of Cole and I's departure, Auntie Leila looked at us.

"Well, when can we expect to see you again?" She asked.

"After your little charade? Don't keep your hopes up" I said and she pouted.

"Don't hold it against me, okay? I'm just a curious woman" she said and I scoffed.

"Well that's a nice way to put it but we both know you're just annoyingly and unnecessarily nosy" I said and Auntie Leila just huffed in response, not saying anything because she knew I was right.

After saying our goodbye's, we finally left and when we got in the car, we sat in silence for a bit.

"I'm mad at you too" I said after a few seconds and Cole looked at me.

"What did you want me to do?" He asked.

"Stand up for yourself. Object, yell, get angry. Anything other than just accepting it" I said, sighing after my sentence.

His habit of just accepting things as they were was pretty bad and it was likely going to take some time to break it.

"You do know that you're allowed to disagree with someone right? It doesn't matter who that person is, if you don't like it then say something" I said.

"I know...and I wanted to. But I felt like I couldn't because she was someone important to you. I wanted her to see that I wouldn't drag you down" Cole's expression was bare but I could easily tell from how he was gripping his hands together that he felt bad about going along with it.

"Yes, my aunt is a very important woman to me but I couldn't give a shit about what she thought of the person I chose. I've never asked you to prove yourself to me, have I?" I asked and Cole shook his head.

"No"

"Even back when you got taken by Adler's men, I trusted that you'd come back to us safely. And you did, didn't you? Cole, I don't need you to prove anything to me. I have faith in you, can't you see that?" As I spoke, I grabbed Cole's hand so that he would look at me.

Once his eyes met mine, I spoke again.

"So please don't feel like you have to do something like that for anyone else. Okay?" I said, feeling my words soften at the end as I tried to dispel my anger.

"Yeah...I'm sorry" Cole said. Giving a small smile, I shook my head.

"You don't have to apologize, if anything I should be the one apologizing for lecturing you. It must be weird coming from me" I said giving a light hearted laugh at the end.

"It's okay, I needed to hear it" Cole said and I was surprised when he leaned over and gave me a kiss of thanks.

"Thank you for saying that" he said after it, a smile of his own crossing his lips.

"Maybe I should start lecturing you more" I said and Cole just shook his head, his smile still on his face.

"I do have a question though" he suddenly said.

"Hm?"

"What's up with your cousin?" He asked and it didn't take a genius to know who he was talking about.

"Eh, I have no idea really, he's just like that towards everyone. He doesn't really like anyone to be honest, not even his siblings" I said, shrugging since I was pretty much the only one that dislike wasn't directed towards.

Well, and also Karina but I had no idea why that was considering she babied him to the point where it could be considered smothering.

"I see" Cole said and turned his head to look back at the house.

"Also, your aunt is still staring at us" he said and I frowned.

"She probably thinks I'm debating on whether or not to come back in. Let's get out of here before she comes up to us" I said and started the engine.

I knew that I was only harsh because of my anger but I meant it when I said I didn't plan on visiting her any time soon. The next time would probably be for Christmas or something which actually wasn't too far.

Ugh...