Chapter 8 - Pie Time

The Café had been buzzing with people all day, so it felt strange when all that was left was this one guy ceremoniously eating the last of the three pies he had ordered. He was dressed in a form-fitting black suit, his dark hair combed back and his skin as pale as a sheet of paper. She tried not to stare at him and focus on just doing the dishes behind the counter, but time and again her eyes darted towards him and an uneasy feeling settled in her stomach. As he had finished his pie he leaned back in his chair, folding his arms in front of his body. With a deep breath she pulled herself together and walked over to him to take the plates.
"Do be careful not to touch me. It would be a waste of talent if you died. Your pie is delicious", he told her in a monotonous voice and moved away a bit more.
"I die if I touch you?" She asked concern and fear noticeable in her voice.
"Usually people already die, when they're merely in my presence, but I make some exceptions at times. Now I'd like to try another flavour", he told her calmly, but determinately and stroked the silver ring on his finger.
"Of course." Startled she hurried to get another piece of a pie he hadn't tasted yet. Carefully she put it on the table and waited for him to pick up the spoon again. While he was occupied she went to the door to turned over the "open" sign.
"Now. Why did you do that?" He asked without looking at her, slight annoyance in his voice, the spoon stopped mid-way to his mouth.
"I like my customers and this way they will not bother you and I'm free to serve you any dish you like", she told him honestly, even though her hands were shaking.
"How clever and generous of you. Come sit with me and have a bite", he acknowledged and waved for her to come over, "Do you ever get the chance to taste your own deserts?"
Still a bit unsure she returned to the table and sat down opposite of him. She put her hands on her lap, to not let him see how nervous she was. "Rarely, sir", she answered truthfully again. Part of her wanted to look at him more closely, another just wanted to get away. He pushed the fork, he hadn't used, and the plate towards her and motioned for her to try it. Hesitantly she picked up the fork and tasted her own pie for once. She was surprised at the sweetness of it and couldn't help but to smile. He gently returned the smile and pulled the plate back towards him and continued eating. So it had been a good idea to add the additional fruits, she thought and made a mental note for an adjustment of the recipe. Feeling a bit more confident she asked: "May I ask a question?"
"You just did, but go ahead", he allowed with a wave of his hand.
"Why does everyone die in your presence. Do you kill them?" It was a stupid question, but if she was potentially going to die, she at least wanted to know why.
Silently he put down the spoon and picked up the cane that was leaning against the table. His fingers wandered over the graved surface of the round handle that. "No, technically I don't", he answered after a moment and put it away again, "I might occasionally cause the thing that kills them, but I do not lay my fingers on them personally. Unless their time is come for the final push of course" He picked up his spoon again, "I'm more in the business of reaping than killing", he revealed with a smirk and a mouthful of pie.
"Reaping? As in a Reaper?", she wondered out loud, now even more curious about her customer.
"Oh, you know about Reapers? No, I'm their boss", he waved off, spreading small crumbs of pie over the table.
"You're the big daddy Reaper?" She blurted out and put her hand over her mouth as soon as the words had left it,"I mean, Death. I'm so terribly sorry."
"Now. Who gave you that description?" He asked; seemingly amused instead of insulted
"I read it in a book! I'm so sorry!" She tried to explain and moved further away from him, fearing repercussion.
"What kind of book?", he wanted to know.
"The – the Supernatural-series by Carver Edlund. Please don't make him die for that!" She tried to plead, not wanting to be responsible for another persons death.
"Carver Edlund, let's see...", he said, closing his eyes, "Ah, a pseudonym, no, don't worry, it is not his time yet", he then told her before adding with a smirk: "Neither is yours."
"Thank you", she breathed out, her heart slowing down a little.
"So, what's that series about?" He inquired turning his attention back to the pie.
As good as she could she tried to explain the content of the books, about the brothers and their monster hunts. They weren't amongst her favourite books, but she could feel how talking about them calmed her and made her tell things a bit more enthusiastically. Especially as Death intently took in every word she said.
"Interesting", he decided when she was finished, "You should pay more attention to them."
"Why?" She now wanted to know.
"We are in the middle of the apocalypse, dear", Death merely stated, putting the spoon on the plate.


Author's Note: Ok, I did not intent to write this today, but as I checked what the next chapter for this would be, I couldn't resist finishing it.
It is after all one of my favourite ideas for this.

Hope you liked it. :)

(Music wise, I had to listen to O' Death by Jen Titus when finishing and editing.)

P.S. I'm still missing three stories for Dean & Sam to make this an even combination, so feel free to give me prompts for those!