rating: PG
summary: but they don't walk.
notes: also published on Tumblr.
Nezumi was smiling. This was rare. He chose to appreciate this uncommon event.
It had been seven years, almost exactly. He stood outside Karan's bakery. Boldly, he opened the door and strode in.
Karan looked exhausted and very old. Nezumi waved at her and said, "Is Shion around?"
Karan smiled sadly. "Oh, didn't you hear? Shion passed away a week ago. Freak construction accident. Hewasstandingunderthe"
Nezumi didn't hear the rest. He was floating away. He wasn't inside of himself anymore.
He said goodbye to Karan, thanked her, and walked out of the bakery. He walked to a street stand, bought a burger and coffee, and ate. Then he went back to his old house. The layer of dust on the books was thin. Shion.
He sat down on the couch and realized he hadn't cried yet. So he did. Then he fell asleep, and when he woke up Shion was there. Shion was covered in blood, and he was very, very pale.
"They didn't even wash you for your funeral?" asked Nezumi, because any way you looked at it, this Shion was dead.
Shion shook his head, smiling mischeviously. "Nope. Closed casket."
"This a dream?"
"Nope."
Nezumi leaned back. Shion sat on the couch next to him and took his hand. Shion's hand was very cold, and there was no pulse in it.
"I thought dead people didn't walk around." Said Nezumi.
"I did, too."
"You sleep with a girl, like I said?"
"Yeah."
"Was it good?"
"Kinda. Wished it was you."
"Sorry, necrophilia isn't my thing."
Shion looked down.
"I love you, Nezumi."
"You've said that before. But usually it was subtext."
"And I was going to ask you to marry me when you came back. But I guess I can't now."
"Funny, I was going to ask you, too."
Shion sighed. Then he leaned up and kissed Nezumi lightly. For a second, his tongue brushed against Nezumi's lips. Shion tasted of rotting fruit. Nezumi pulled away.
Shion stood and made his way towards the door.
"Will I see you again?" asked Nezumi.
"There's life after death. Just not how you'd expect." Shion walked up the stairs. "We'll be separated for a little longer. But it'll be okay."
And Nezumi believed him.