Clay still couldn't believe it. The one and only Mori Calliope was laying right beside him on the bed. This was the epitome of perfection, an unstoppable wave of ostentation washed over him as he awoke at six in the morning. Upon seeing her rest comfortably in his blankets, his eyes widened and his arms immediately went to brush against his intact clothes. Sitting up, he could feel the dry air around him lift him up in a hurry.
He couldn't remember the remainder of what happened last night besides the confession. Sleeping together was something he forgot. He was in the habit of sleeping alone that another person on his bed brought a foreign feeling. A feeling he welcomed with open arms.
He was in boxers and a white shirt. He didn't do anything. They didn't do anything when she stayed the night nor after confessing. Nothing else happened besides a life-changing event. For some reason, he exhaled out of both relief and dissatisfaction. Relief because he didn't want to hurry things but dissatisfied because he also wanted to do a lot of things with her. Still, not any other force could completely destroy the radiant appearance of the powerful reaper before him just mere inches away.
"We didn't do anything." Although he wished they did.
Clay internally squeaked at Calli's one eye looking at him with mischief as her head laid down one of his pillows. She smirked. "Good mornin'."
Was this actually real? None of it was a hologram or a simulated reality? Clay poked her cheek, resorting to other means of questioning the truth before him. Calli raised a brow, followed by a light hit using the pillow on his head. "I'm real, just so you know." She was, indeed. In all her bed-hair glory.
As they were now both sitting up on the bed, Clay couldn't help but feel an urge of happy feelings rush in his system. Calli broke through most of his concerns by simply being herself. He had spent a good chunk of time wondering, figuring out what he should've done instead of doing what was supposed to be. He was locked in a perpetual state of zugzwang, forever trapped in a worse position with no means of escape.
Thankfully, Calli cared enough to resolve it with him. And she likes him too.
He pulled her body towards him, resting his back against the head of the bed as he took all of her for a hug. The bed creaked due to his restless need of wanting her closer. She complied nonetheless to his desires, putting affection above all else. She was on top of him, taking his head and putting it close to her chest. Gone were thoughts about work or any other commitments outside Clay's apartment. She liked to see him smiling because of her.
"The shirt looks good on you," Clay said, referring to the oversized shirt she borrowed from him, feeling the very fabric he always wore on the body of another.
"I look good in anything." That much was true. "Still, it's pretty early to be this, hm?-"
He had to look at her for a second, breaking the hug. She was definitely real from head to toe. Her unblemished face was crystallized in his memory for eternity, those soulless but penetrating oculi of hers were magnetic and full of belief. Clay could touch her hair whenever he wanted to so long as they weren't working. He could carry her in his arms and tell her how amazing she is. Though the latter part was always consistent with him anyways.
"What?" she asked. Their faces were close.
He kissed her cheeks one-by-one, gently holding her head in place. A soft chuckle escaped her lips, the silence of the room basking in the beauty of their adoration.
"My lips are here."
And so, a whole morning of making out and talking commenced.
~*~
Around 12:30 in the afternoon, Calli and Zed had already finished marking down the routes essential for Zed's stay on Earth. The both of them were in Calli's room, seriously discussing how Zed will have to acclimate to his new environment. Yagoo had called upon Clay's presence for an update regarding his performance recently so he wasn't present today alongside her, much to her chagrin.
"I haven't been informed with the inner workings of the reaper business nowadays. How many did you say quit?" Calli and Zed were sitting opposite each other. Though, Zed had more inclination to sit on the floor against the wall.
"50% ran and decided to find new ways to reap. Much like what you're doing right now," Zed said with a bored look on his face. "There's good reason why there's high demand of reapers when a lot went rogue and do reaping on their own. Capturing the hearts of your fans through this job isn't so much in-line with the reaping I'm accustomed to. No wonder your uncle's pissed at your newfound vocation, teach."
"It's not newfound. It's acceptable. Violating the rules isn't that dangerous for vets who have tons of experience. Still, Death's really putting you in a ton of pressure."
Zed was given the opportunity to build an entirely new and operative reaping business with him acting as the head leader. Considering the health care of today being too advanced, Death was furious many lives were being saved instead of going through the normal process like the olden days where cures weren't so potent. And so, with the Underworld's prodigies fostered in the school of reapers, Zed was naturally chosen to be part of the process to strengthen the reputation of reapers and come up with a new way of doing things to spare Death the trouble and frustration of today's standards.
"The old man's just mad he can't reap like he used to. When someone fell ill five hundred years ago, they were already a liability in things like agriculture and business. They'd die in weeks or months." He twirled his finger around. "Although, I don't really see a possibility of reaping dying even if the business dies down. Death just wants our powers coordinated and given order. As long as we exist, humans will fill the gap of our usefulness."
"Do you want to run one? A business." Calli asked.
"If you can't tell, I'm just living how I want for now. Getting to see someone legendary like you was the first on my bucket list, and that's fulfilled now." He sighed out of freedom, sliding against the wall as he stood. "Are we done here? If so, I'll come back tomorrow and report what I have in mind for the routes you gave. I'll list them down carefully and tell you how I wanna proceed if that's okay."
"Sure. I'm glad you're testing out the waters. If there's something wrong, tell me right away."
"Also, I know it's late but," He scratched his head. "Truthfully, I wanted to apologize for my behavior. I can't control it sometimes. It just comes out."
"You mean when you act arrogant and all-knowing?"
"Well, I wouldn't go far with all-knowing but I suppose arrogance is closer. It's a-" He stopped and cleared his throat before saying what he wanted. "It's complicated. It comes out when I feel excited or nervous."
"Luckily, they don't place a big grade on attitude in reaping school, yeah?" Calli laughed, arising from her chair to pat him on the head. "It's a way for you to show another side of yourself. But maybe you could also tell Kiara and Clay about it. They're probably the only ones you talked to during your stay."
"Yeah... Of course. I'm going to try."
"Nope, you will." She patted him on the back. "I'm glad you opened up to me about it, Zed. I didn't really know if you acted that way on purpose or not but thanks for sharing it with me. Now go! And test the waters! I actually want to find out if you can handle the reaping routes I gave you."
"I don't see any waters. I'm not a rookie. Tch." he went straight for the door but paused at the last second.
"Hey," he called out.
"Hm?"
"You're not going to ask why I'm like this? Why I'm talking like this now instead of how I usually talk?"
"Didn't you already tell me?"
"I mean, how it started and all."
"We're not close enough to be talking about that right now."
"Huh." He stared at space for a second before saying something. "That's new."
"We have to eat with the others first then you can spend more time with us if you want." Calli said. "For now, I'll tell the girls we can eat dinner outside if they're available. Gura, Amelia, and Ina are curious about you too."
"You're a good teacher but you're strange."
"Yeah. It's strange." Calli could visibly see his shoulders slightly dropping. It wasn't clear to the human eye but she wasn't one in the first place. "A good strange. You're acting more like a student now. What happened? Our fast travels today made you reflect or something?"
"Nah. I'm just bored."
Calli recollected a funny memory of the ancient past where she'd been stuck in Florence for a year in the Renaissance era.
"What made you decide to stay in Florence? Was exploring the world not your dream?"
"I have all the time in the world, Richard. I'm just bored."
"Pandering to our way of life now, aren't we, Moriana?"
" Close your pipe. Carry on with your leisure before I change my mind and leave for Venice. Grace awaits you by the lake. Don't make me grab your notes to make you memorize your heartfelt speech again."
"Haha! Sorry, sorry! Just needed a speck of courage before trudging forward! I will go now and make my love known! I'll get you a man soon too!"
Richard lived until the age of 93.
"That was a good day," she reminisced.
"You're distracted again."
"Anyway, feel free to join us if you're okay with it."
Zed muttered but even Calli could hear it. "Is the Phoenix going...?"
"You mean Kiara? She's one of the girls so yeah. Why."
"Forget what I asked. I'll see you all later."
"Wait. One more question."
Zed peeked out of the doorway as he was about to close it.
"Was school difficult?"
"It was."
Then the door closed.
"Funny kid," she whispered before turning on her stream.