1x1 with icycycle - angelxdemon

[velasco]

𝕾𝖍𝖞𝖑𝖔 I ①⑦    &⃝ ①②⑦ I 𝕸𝖆𝖑𝖊

"I don't see how else I'd become an angel," Shylo responded, chuckling. "I used to have a really nice life. Best swimmer in the school, had the popular cheerleader girlfriend. You'd probably think that wouldn't happen since our swim team is so lowly respected, but 127 years ago the swim team was the most popular people in school, and the most respected sport. It was so crazy and difference."

He paused to listen to Rei before opening his eager mouth once more. "Sometimes I wish we were similar in that way, born to angel parents. But no. The older generations of angels can't have babies, no one can. I mean, I suppose in time we can figure it out, and I'm stuck here forever, so maybe in the future. But as of now, no. And 127 is quite young, so my generation wouldn't even think of it." He stopped, realizing he was rambling again. "I'm sorry, I ramble a lot when I'm nervous. Anyway, what I mean is, I wish we were alike in the sense of being born into our species. It's an awful experience dying and coming back just to watch those you knew go on about their daily actives. When I first died, I couldn't stop watching my girlfriend. I returned to school, appearance changed, and not even a day later she was on my best friend. I couldn't stop visiting my mother in my new appearance and telling her I was a good friend of Jackson, which was my name. She'd always gloat about me to me. It made me happy, truly."

Sighing, he realized he was rambling once more. "I don't mean to keep doing this. I just never get to talk to anyone about these things. Most angels feel honored to be "alive"," he said, putting air quotes around alive, "but I honestly just wish that I had died and stayed dead. Because it's heart wrenching. None of my family is here. One of my friends became an angel, but we were distant, and he didn't remember me. It's just.." he trailed off, trying to keep his thoughts in place. That had been the third time in a row he'd rambled to this poor demon. "It's hard. Which, being an angel, I may not have the right to say to a demon. But it's hard."

[icycycle]

Rei nodded, slowly. She could never relate to Shylo in that way, but she understood how painful it must have been to watch loved ones move on with their lives.

"I've never had a boyfriend," Rei mused. "Well, I mean, there were some flirty moments with boys but nothing that ever became serious. Demons mate for life, and I just couldn't imagine myself choosing to dedicate myself to someone forever when I was so young. I was only 100!"

Rei paused, realizing that she was also ranting. But there was so much emotion bottled up inside that it felt good to let it out.
"Sometimes, I wish I was just a normal girl. At school, I watch all the other students laughing, arguing, fighting. Their hardest problem is picking out a dress to wear at prom. I never had friends or someone I could confide in. I was sworn into the military as an officer when I was 118. It's so lonely, sometimes, having a position of power. Nobody my age held the same rank as me, and it's forbidden to fraternize within the military anyways." Rei paused. Shylo had truly suffered, losing all those that he loved, and here she was, complaining about her job. "I'm sorry. I just wish that I could be a normal human. Be born, live life, and die. That's all."

[velasco]

𝕾𝖍𝖞𝖑𝖔 I ①⑦    &⃝ ①②⑦ I 𝕸𝖆𝖑𝖊

Nodding, Shylo tried to understand where she was coming from. "I only went to one prom. I was supposed to go to two, but then I drowned. I remember stressing over which tie would match my girlfriend's dress and what color the flowers on her stupid little wrist flower thingy would be," he said, not knowing at all the name of what he was talking about. He'd never learned, and his girlfriend always yelled at him for that. "I never learned what those are called. She'd yell at me, because I'd walk into a store and ask for a "stupid little wrist flower thingy", but I always asked her what the point was in remembering names for pointless things when we had the rest of our lives together to spend memorizing bigger and better things. Like what type of house we would buy, how we would raise our kid. But now," he gave a defeated sigh, "I wish I remembered that stupid thing. Because I don't have a kid, and never will, and especially not with her. I get to mentor the next generation of angels and co-parent, and that bothers me. I wanted a child with her, and I was hoping it would be a boy so that I could teach him to swim and play basketball like I did, and if it was a girl, she wanted to teach her to do hair like she did. We had everything so figured out."

Shylo dropped silent abruptly. He had more to say, but he figured it would be best if he stopped speaking right then and there. He'd cry. Being an actual crybaby, he did everything in his advantage to avoid crying. Especially in front of people he barely knew, and especially in front of a species that he needed to hide his weaknesses from. Tears flooded his eyes as he stared ahead of him, not once blinking in hopes the tears would somehow suck themselves back into his eyes.

[icycycle]

Rei could hear Shylo's shaky breaths and knew he was trying to keep from crying. She gently touched his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Shylo," Rei murmured. Oh, the pure irony of it. Humans always dreamed of being angels, of being able to live life after death in heaven and paradise. Wasn't that what her father had ranted angrily about? That angels were soft creatures, corporeal beings of love and kindness? Yet Shylo was full of tragedy and despair.

"I'm sorry." The pair stopped walking. They stood in silence, their figures illuminated by the streetlight. Over a hundred years,
and Shylo was still mourning. That was what love was.

Love. Something Rei could never understand.

[velasco]

𝕾𝖍𝖞𝖑𝖔 I ①⑦    &⃝ ①②⑦ I 𝕸𝖆𝖑𝖊

Sighing, Shylo jumped as Rei's hand rested on his shoulder. He looked back at her, listening to her apologies. He nodded softly, blinking quickly, holding tears back. "It's fine. I should be over it by now."

He knew that he should've been over it, it had been over a hundred years. A hundred years of either watching her cling to his best friend or her just being dead and having no way of even seeing her walk down the hallway, high ponytail swaying from left to right repeatedly.

He looked at Rei as she apologized once more. "It's really fine. I-" he cut himself off, trying not to repeat himself just as she did or he knew this would go on forever. "It's not your fault."

[icycycle]

Rei and Shylo continued walking in silence, until they came to a stop in front of an apartment building.

"Is this where you live?" Rei asked.

[velasco]

𝕾𝖍𝖞𝖑𝖔 I ①⑦    &⃝ ①②⑦ I 𝕸𝖆𝖑𝖊

"Top floor, D4," he mumbled quietly under his breath. He put his hand on the wooden railing, sliding it as he walked up the stairs. Splinters formed but popped out, healing, just as quick. Getting tired of the constant pain and relief, he lifted his hand, looking at a healing splinter. He shook his hand abruptly, looking back at Rei. His cologne still filled the air and he was still trying his best to get rid of it. Looking back at Rei once more, his lips parted, "Just know, my apartment smells even more like my cologne," he cracked a smile.

When they made it in front of his door, he fumbled around on his key chain, looking for his apartment key. After flipping through five or so keys, he found it. He unlocked the door, and stepped inside. Slipping his shoes off, he motioned for Rei to do the same. He sat at his makeshift foldable table that sat in the living room and kitchen area, patting the foldable seat next to him for Rei. "Sorry, it's a dump."

[icycycle]

Rei stared in amazement as Shylo's hands healed. Did blood even run through his veins? Demons bled, she knew that from the countless times she had nicked herself on things. She didn't mind as Shylo apologized for the strong scent of his cologne. In fact, she liked it. It was masculine and alluring.

Following Shylo into his apartment, Rei pulled off her shoes and neatly placed them against the wall. She slipped into the hard, folding chair as Shylo apologized again for his apartment. "It's nothing to be ashamed of, it's lovely," Rei said as she pulled off her coat and draped it over the seat back. She then pulled out her notebooks and pens, and then checked her agenda for the list of homework questions. She groaned as she realized there were at least thirty questions on Hamlet.

[velasco]

𝕾𝖍𝖞𝖑𝖔 I ①⑦    &⃝ ①②⑦ I 𝕸𝖆𝖑𝖊

Shylo laughed, "You don't need to lie." He leaned over, looking at Rei's agenda, having no respect for personal space. He'd always been awful at writing down assignments, and he figured since he and Rei were going to work together, there was no shame in looking over at hers. But his version of looking over at hers was leaning his head onto her shoulder to get as close of a look as possible. Again, personal space was a foreign concept to Shylo.

He paused his entire body for a moment, looking at Rei. He held his index finger up, indicating that she waited. Standing, he walked to his bathroom, grabbing something to spray the air with that didn't smell like pine trees and ginger. Even he was growing tired of the scent. He returned with a can of Febreeze that smelled like laundry detergent and a hint of lavender, spraying it in the air around them. Coughing due to the thickening of the air, he looked at Rei once more, "I'm sorry, I put way too much cologne on today, I was in a rush and didn't get to shower."

Sitting back down with Rei, he grabbed Hamlet out of his bag. "I know absolutely nothing about this book," he said, a bit too chirpy.

[icycycle]

Rei held her breath as Shylo rested his chin on her shoulder, reading her agenda. She coughed a little as Shylo sprayed the room with Febreeze. "You know, you can't keep layering this stuff on," she laughed.

Rei sighed as she flipped open the book. "Okay...question 1...what did Old Hamlet want Hamlet to do for him?" Rei and Shylo perused the text in silence, until Shylo found the passage. "Ah. Revenge. A classic," Rei commented.

"You know," Rei announced, putting down her pencil. "Hamlet was a real guy, not just a figment of Shakespeare's imagination. My great-grandfather saw Old Hamlet floating around in purgatory a couple times."