Victoria Goerk - The cold warmth

So he did.

“Ummm… do you sleep?” A nod.

“Will you sleep here tonight?” Another nod.

“Oh… well, it’s getting late and I’m a bit sleepy now… I’m going to sleep, okay?” Two nods with a warm smile.

“Will you talk to me tomorrow?”

There was a moment of silence before the other stretched out his hand, his palm facing up. Braylon stared at it in confusion, not sure of what to do, so he just mirrored the younger’s action. The spirit lightly traced his finger on Braylon’s palm, writing out a ‘maybe’ and retracted his hand back to tuck it under his head. The demon stared at his own hand, feeling the light coldness that was lingering in it. He was still a bit fascinated by how the other could make himself solid whenever he wanted. He was determined to learn more about the spirit tomorrow, already satisfied with the little progress he made today.

“Okay then… goodnight kid.”

Jaylon was excited to have a living roommate.

At first, he thought that it was another boring grim reaper that was trying to be intimidating and drag him to the afterlife. Turns out it wasn’t. This time there was actually someone trying to get to know him slowly and spend time with him. The spirit felt giddy. He couldn’t stop moving last night but seeing the tired face one of the smaller forced him to eventually lie down.

Today he woke up earlier than normal. He was sitting patiently at the end of the bed and waiting for his roommate to wake up.

/Is he an angel? Why is he pretty? /

And then it struck him… he didn’t even know what Braylon was. Well he has the intention to get to know everything about Braylon as soon as he wakes up.

The ghost waits and waits and waits. He waited until the clock hit seven-thirty and Braylon’s phone starts to ring loudly. The owner groaned softly, pulling it out from under the pillow to turn the alarm off before sitting up. He was blinking slowly at Jaylon who was smiling at him.

The half demon smiled back, still looking very sleepy. “Uh….. Good morning?”

Jaylon was ready.

“Morning.” He says, observing the small eyes widening in surprise before a smile follows ´. The smile was so wide that it was showing the perfect white teeth and pink gums of the demon.

/Oh shit, he’s cute/

“You can talk! I mean you’re talking to me!”

“Yeah, I’m capable of that.” Replied Jaylon happily.

“Can you tell me your name now?”

“I’m Jaylon. This here was my old apartment.”

“Ah, I see… is that all you can remember?”

Jaylon shrugged, “Are we seriously going to play twenty questions this early in the morning?”

Braylon smiled sheepishly while muttering an apology before glancing at the clock. “I have work to do at nine but I’m leaving early today okay? Gotta find some breakfast for myself.”

Jaylon’s face fell at that, he thought the other was going to stay with him all day.

“When are you coming back?”

“Maybe five or six? I’ll try to close the shop quickly.” Answered Braylon, scrambling out of to do a few stretches and gathered his things to take a quick shower before getting dressed. After ten minutes Jaylon was still rooted to the same place and pouting at Braylon, who entered the room again to pack his small everyday bag.

“Hey,” Jaylon spoke up, making his roommate look up with a smile. “Are you a reaper?”

“No,” he says. “I’m half demon and half human.”

The spirit made a small noise of acknowledgement, but was still a little bit curious.

“Then why are you doing the job of a reaper?”

The demon hummed in response and tilting his head a bit. “I don’t really see it as a job, I’ve never done this before, but I just want to help.” He paused for a few seconds. “And… my shop is near too. So why shouldn’t I try to help?”

Jaylon listened closely, feeling his heart inflate at the kindness the one in front of him radiates from his words. He also perked up at the mention of a shop.

“Your shop? You sell stuff? Can I go with you?”

Braylon raises an eyebrow at him. “You can go outside?”

“I think so…. If someone accompanies me it should be fine.”

The older looked uncertain, shifting his weight from foot to foot before finally saying “I’m sorry, maybe on another day?”

Jaylon frowned, giving a small nod and slid back down on the bed. He was covering himself with blankets. The spirit could already feel himself start to sulk. He knew he wanted attention and when things didn’t go the way he wanted, he sulks. He can hear Braylon shuffling nervously at the side of the bed before he received a slight pat on the head through the thin cover.

“I’ll be back soon and I’ll promise we’ll get to know each other ok? Nice meeting you Jaylon, I’ll see you tonight.”

Jaylon laid there silently, waiting until he heard the older leave the room before throwing the covers off of him. He walked over to the window, pressing his face to the glass and watching people walk in and out of the building. A little while later Braylon was one of them. He was waddling away from the apartment dressed in an oversized shirt and ripped jeans. His bag was hanging from one of his shoulders and lightly swaying in the wind.

The ghost smiled to himself, adoring how tiny the half demon looked from down there. Sadly his smile quickly faded when he remembered, that the other won’t be coming back until late in the evening. Glancing at the clock, he saw that it was only 8:16 o’clock.

“Ah… shit. I just met him and I’m already getting attached…. what’s wrong with me?”

The ghost mumbled quietly, crouching down to roll over on the floor in boredom. At least he has something to look forward to today.

Wait for Braylon to come /home/.

It definitely seems better than staying by himself in this room, but time passes slower when he steals a glance at the clock every minute. Jaylon sighed loudly, climbed up on the bed and decided to go back to sleep since he didn’t have much to do. He snuggled under the blankets facing the left side of the bed and was reminded of the sight of his roommate peacefully sleeping there earlier.

/Ugh, he didn’t even do anything and I still got attached. /

Braylon felt bad. He knew he made Jaylon upset, but he couldn’t risk anything happening in his shop where humans come and go. He barely knew the ghost, let alone how he could control him when he has too much energy to spare.

Braylon sighed while unlocking the store only to find, that it was already neatly cleaned. Chairs that were previously on the tables were now tucked under them and ready to be sat on. The different kinds of flowers that were huddled in baskets seemed to perk up at his arrival. They were looking fresh and full of color.

His store wasn’t just a flower shop. One side of it was a small café with three little tables. The coffee machine was already turned on, warming itself up and getting ready for its first shot of coffee.

Braylon could spot a small bag of cookies on the counter with a small yellow sticky not stuck to it. He immediately recognized Marcellus’ messy handwriting.

‘Good morning Braylon, I prepared everything for you already. Hope you have a great day☺.

The half demon smiled at the cute little emoji drawing at the end of the note and made his way behind the café counter to make himself a cup of black coffee, nit forgetting to pull out some frozen cookie dough to let it thaw. He quickly ate and went about his daily routine of checking the tidiness of the whole store before flipping the ‘Open’ sign at the door. He then made his way to the small greenhouse behind the store where numerous flowers were growing in full bloom.