Fugo yawned, scratching his head. His bed had been so seductive that morning, pulling him back and begging him to stay. But he was a man who would not bend to such carnal desires. He would resist and fight for as long as he had to.
"As long as I have my coffee, I'll be strong enough to go punch Lucifer in the face." He muttered, pulling on his uniform.
"So if I give you a cup right now, will you hurry up?" A scornful female voice came from outside the room. "You're already late,we have customers to serve you know?"
Sighing, he tucked in his shirt and straightened his collar, walking out . "Hey, Viridi, I actually had something to ask you."
An older looking girl tied her green hair behind her in a pony tail. "Make it quick, I've got business to attend to."
Yeah, eating ramen while binging your K-dramas and sitting on your ass all day. Real urgent business. "U-Uh, well, you're studying psychology and stuff right?"
"I'd say I'm quite good at it as well."
Fugo rolled his eyes. He was regretting his decision already. "Why would someone…act out of character, like by doing things they wouldn't normally do? Is there anything that would-"
"People act out of character for all sorts of reasons. You can't expect me to understand what you mean with such a horrible explanation."
Would it be a good idea to spoil the K-drama for her? "I-It's Lucine, he's acting really weirdly. He can't remember things we did last week, and he-"
"Memory issues could be linked with DID… But which Lucine are we talking about? The Fastus kid?"
Fugo nodded, wondering how many other Lucines this lonely hardass would know.
Viridi shuddered in disgust, looking at him with glowing green eyes. "I don't get why you're friends with people like them. They could be dangerous, Fugo. You make friends with the likes of Lucine and Dante, those two delinquents, and you're even dating that other girl? I wouldn't be surprised if you ended up being as lawless as them. Wouldn't that be a plot twist?" She waved her hands around as if she were trying to swat away an imaginary fly. "The straight-faced, peaceful Fugo is revealed to be guilty of crimes worse than all demons combined! Although I will admit, it's a twist that doesn't have much impact."
"Sorry to disappoint, but I'm really just trying to scrape a living here."
She glanced back at him, her expression softening. "If you need cash for anything, don't hesitate to ask me. As long as you don't spend it irresponsibly, I won't mind."
"No, it's all right. Dad's doing better now." He looked away, embarrassed that he'd been insulting her non-stop in his mind. "I do need help with something else though…"
"And that would be?"
He paused for a second, considering his words carefully.
"What do you know about humans?"
She seemed taken aback. "Humans? Aren't you the one to know more about them than me? I thought you were into mythology and all of that sort of stuff."
"Humans are barely mentioned in most myths, at least the ones I know." He said, putting on a name-tag. "It's mostly about angels and how they interact with demons. Humans were sorta ignored."
"I doubt that I know anything useful. All I know is that humans are weirdly logical and go about their work that way. Why do you ask?"
"Humans are colder, more callous. They can stay calm in life threatening situations, and plan and calculate while hanging on the side of a cliff. They can feel, but differently to us. Pleasure and pain are just two sides of the same coin to them, and sometimes even then the line blurs between them…" He looked straight at her. "At least, those were the stories we were told as kids right?"
She nodded along, looking slightly concerned.
Fugo continued. "The other day, Lucine got into a fight with Gemu and he was beat up really bad. The worst I've ever seen him. In his position, anyone else would be screaming or at least struggling to stay composed, but when I looked at him and tried to ask him if he was okay, his eyes weren't even glowing. He seemed so calm, as if he was in no danger at all. And in the next second, he had his feet on Gemu's face and had turned the entire fight around." He waved his hands around to illustrate, which just made him look even more mad to her. "That only happens in webnovels and stuff (haha)! And the expression on his face was so strange. He looked like so…so humane…"
There was an awkward silence between them, as the two of them listened to the hustle and bustle of the restaurant.
"Yeah, I get it, it's stupid, but it's how I feel."
"It doesn't really make any sense…" She muttered. "What's your point?"
"I don't- I don't know, just, something's up." He said, firmly. "Even if I don't know what's going on, something is definitely wrong."
"Maybe you're just looking for something that's not there. If you want to find out, just ask him. But forget that!" She said. "We have to start working before Boss comes catches us slacking." She walked out, leaving Fugo alone again.
Could he really just be making a big deal out of nothing? He switched off his phone. No, that's wrong. There was no way he was just imagining things. The expression on his face was still burned into his mind. It really was as if a human had possessed him. Even Gemu had noticed it… He'd have to go ask him about it later soon. But Viridi was right. It was time to work.
His shift as a waiter was nearly over, and he could hear his bed calling him home.
"Excuse me! We're ready for our order." A man called. Fugo glanced over. This would probably be his last order before he had to leave. With that happy thought in his heart, he strode over with a genuine smile on his face. There was an entire family on the table, a man, a woman, and two children. A cute, wholesome family outing on a sunny day likes this. How adorable!
"What do you two want to order?"
The woman turned, a broad smile on her face.
They both stopped smiling as they saw each other.
The red glints in their eyes were even brighter in the sunlight.
A silence spread out between them.
Fugo fought to keep his voice steady. "So what-what would you like to order."
"Can we have chips, nuggies and fruit shoot please?" The elder of the two children chipped in. She was 8 now, wasn't she? If he had remembered correctly, her birthday had been sometime recently. As for the other child, his birthday was in 4 months.
" 'Course you can." He said, fighting to keep his wings from unfolding. He turned to the two adults. "Will you be ordering anything?"
The man didn't look up from his menu. "I'd like to order a medium rare steak, nothing much. The food here is a little on the pricey end so I'd be best to not eat too much." He laughed.
Fugo's heart drummed in his ears. "You mean all the divorce money wasn't enough for you?"
The man whipped up his head, his purple eyes glowing repulsively. "What did you say?"
Fugo ignored him. "Is there anything you'd like to order ma'am?"
"I'll- I'll have the same." She replied, staring fixedly away from him
"Don't ignore me!" His face had turned red. "You! What did you say?"
"I asked you if you wanted to order anything."
"Do you think I'm stupid?"
"I don't remember saying you were."
The man finally seemed to recognize him. "Oh, I see who you are. You're her first child, aren't you?" He glanced at the woman sitting next to him, who was still too embarrassed to look at him.
Why did she look so uncomfortable? It was her dumb sugar daddy that had called him over and started this whole situation.
"Don't you think you should be more polite to your mother's new family, forgetting the fact that you're supposed to be a waiter here."
The eyes of the entire restaurant were on them. The bastard had brought all the attention to them
Fugo's eyebrows twitched. "She's not my mother."
"Yes, she is. Your name is Fugo Libent." He spat.
"The name-tag clearly says Fugo AIsam."
"You being a childish hardass doesn't change the fact that she gave birth to you."
"No, my dad gave birth to me. I'm a medical mystery, you know. I still have scientists coming to my house every now and again to do experiments."
A ripple of laughter ran through the restaurant, making the man turn even redder. Fugo heard the kids muttering. He glanced over at them. They looked worried, making his heart twinge with regret. Maybe he shouldn't have gone this far, at least for their sake.
"YOU STILL WORK HERE, SO YOU STILL NEED TO SHOW ME RESPECT."
"I thought you said we'd be forgetting that."
The man stood up, unfolding his wings, and grabbing Fugo by his collar. "DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU'RE TALKING TO, YOU LITTLE BRAT?"
Fugo grabbed his hand, staring directly into his eyes. "I know who you are. I just don't care."
The man looked like he was gonna burst a vessel. But before he could do anything drastic, Viridi grabbed him and pulled him off Fugo.
It wasn't a pleasant scene. Boss, a burly man who was surprisingly soft-spoken, was restraining the man. But that didn't stop him from yelling profranities at Fugo. His screams were punctuated by the children's crying. Their mother tried in vain to calm them down, but it wasn't long before she gave up. She and Fugo met eyes again, but he gave her with such a look of disgust that she couldn't help looking away again. Viridi helped sort out Fugo's collar, asking him repeatedly if he was okay, shooting dirty looks at the man, while the rest of the restaurant watched in a mix of concern and amusement.
"OUR DAY'S BEEN RUINED THANKS TO YOU, YOU DAMN-"
"YOUR DAY'S BEEN RUINED? WHAT A BLOODY SHAME. THAT CAN'T AT ALL BE COMPARED TO HOW YOU AND THAT SUCCUBUS OVER THERE RUINED MY ENTIRE FUCKING LIFE!"
The restaurant was silent, with all eyes on Fugo. His wings were completely outstretched, and his watery eyes shone red, the only time anyone present had seen his eyes glow. Breathing heavily, he folded in his wings and stormed out of the restaurant. It had been the first time he'd seen his mother in months, but he didn't bother sparing her another look.
"So that's why you're still in your waiter uniform."
After the ordeal at work, Fugo had retreated to his place of comfort, the library, where he didn't hesitate to vent all his frustrations to the librarian there.
Fugo melted into the beanbag, pulling his knees closer. "Yeah…D'you think I messed up?"
"Definitely." She said, without missing a beat.
"Yuri! This is the part where you're supposed to be supportive and encourage me!"
Yuri sighed, brushing her purple hair out of her face. "I don't blame you for messing up. It's natural considering the position you were in." She turned a page of her book, smiling gently. "In all honesty, I'm surprised you didn't say more, with that sarcastic attitude of yours."
Fugo pulled another beanbag on top of him, blanketing himself in softness. "You're just as sarcastic as I am, so I don't want to hear that from you!"
"Mhm, if you say so."
"My eyes were glowing as well." He pulled the beanbag closer, pouting.
"I don't see what the problem with that is. I know you don't like to hear it, but you have beautiful eyes."
"Yeah but they're her eyes! I don't want people to notice them even more by them glowing."
"Just think of it like you got the best out of her genes. You didn't get her horrible personality, but you got her eyes. Having those eyes doesn't mean you're any worse of a person. You've already proved that you're better than her more than once."
"…I guess so"
A while passed in silence, the only sound being the turning of pages and the distant din of the outside world.
"Yuri, are you married?"
"Yes, I have a wife. Why do you ask?"
"Say there was a problem you had that you couldn't fix, like an addiction-"
"Fugo…"
He sat up, the beanbag falling off him. "Wouldn't she try to help you? If she couldn't help, she'd try getting you to rehab right? And if you were poor and broke and life was hard, wouldn't you still stick together? For better or for worse, right?"
Judging that the incident had opened up old wounds, she got up and gave him a hug.
"Yes, you're right, we would stick together. Because we love each other." She held him even tighter. "Don't worry about what's past, because there's nothing for you there but regret. What she did was horrible, but she can never do it to you again unless you keep it in your heart wherever you go. And don't worry about anyone else doing that to you either. As long as you're sure they truly love you, it'll all turn out okay." Relinquishing her grip, she ruffled his hair and smiled at him. "In the mean-time, I've got some more books for you to enjoy. Want to read them for a bit?"
Fugo wiped the tears from his eyes and nodded. He was embarrassed that he had been acting so childish, but he knew that she didn't mind. After all, it hadn't been the first time.
"O-Oh, also, if you don't mind, do you have any books about humans?"
"I do. I'll get them for you." She came back carrying two books in her hands. She lifted up the one in her left. "This one is a history of how humans have been perceived through time and-" She lifted up the one in her right. "This one is full of stories about humans, angels and demons. Take your pick."
"I'll ta-take the story one first." He took the book, flicking through the pages. "How'd you find them so quickly though? I get that you've lived here for the past 50 years and all but-"
She poked his forehead. "How rude. I haven't even hit 35 yet."
"You don't look a day over 64."
"See? Sarcastic. Anyway, there was another boy who came in asking for books about angels, and the books about humans happened to be in the same spot."
"Huh? About angels?"
"Just waltzed in and asked about angels. Come to think of it, he looked around your age." She tilted her head. "He was a half-Servum with yellow eyes. Do you know anyone like him?"
Lucine? Why was Lucine asking about angels? His heart started beating faster.
Yuri continued. "He didn't really look like the type to actually read. To me, it looked like he'd be more suited fighting on the streets or a place of that nature." She paused, creases forming on her forehead. "And he had this awfully calm feel around him from the way he acted, not at all what I was expecting from what he looked like. I suppose that's just another example that we shouldn't judge based on appearances-"
"Is it okay if I take these books home?"
"Huh? Yeah, go ahead. Bring your library card tomorrow and I'll sign it off for you."
He got up, taking both the books off her and running off.
"Remember to give your clothes back!"
"Will do!"
She smiled while watching him go. He seemed to be feeling better now. But had what spurred him to run off like that? Did he remember something? It didn't really matter, all things considered. As long as he was feeling better.
She didn't really know the feeling, seeing as she and her spouse had chosen not to adopt, but she thought that she saw Fugo as her own son. She gripped the book tighter. It made her hate his real mother even more for abandoning him