The ghost drummed his fingers on the kitchen table, sitting across from Ein as he drank his coffee. "It's my birthday tomorrow, you know."
Ein raised a sarcastic eyebrow. What did birthdays matter in this time and age? Only kids celebrated that.
"Are you that afraid of missing out on a lavish party with tons of women and booze that your soul's still lingering here?"
Adriel scowled and grabbed Ein's cup from under his nose. "I'm not into any of those things. In fact, I'm more of an introvert," he murmured, taking a sip.
Ein rolled his eyes, rising from his seat to grab another mug from the cupboard. "Sure, introvert."
"And for the record, I was supposed to meet my uncle," Adriel added.
Ein poured the last coffee from the pot, glancing sideways at the ghost with a contemplative expression.
Adriel sighed, slumping dramatically, "My uncle was the only person who cared about me. I was hoping he could help me figure out what to do next..."
Ein leaned back against the counter, arms crossed. A sense of pity welled up inside him. He was well aware of who Adriel's uncle was. The very same person who had paid for this hit, the man who saw Adriel as a mere inconvenience in the family's business plans.
What a dog-eat-dog world.
"Not that you'd know anything about people caring about you, you cold murderer," Adriel threw out.
Ein's face flattened back to its default apathy. The pity he felt flew out the window and he continued drinking his coffee while staring at a wall.
"Hey, what's your name? I'll memorize it and turn you in to the police once I get back to my body," the ghost threatened.
"Ein," came a flat answer, ignoring the threat.
"Like 'one' in German?"
Ein rubbed his temples. "No, it's pronounced like 'eh-in.' You know, 'eh' like in 'bet' and 'in' like in 'pin.'"
Adriel smirked, "So like Ain?"
Ein narrowed his eyes, the corners of his lips tightening. Damn ghost, getting on his nerves every chance he got.
"For the last time, leave," Ein snatched the cup from Adriel's hands to strip him of the guest privileges, but it was still full to the brim with coffee.
Ein cast an unimpressed glance at the ghost. "Were you pretending to drink this?"
"Oh, no, I drank it. I sipped on the coffee's soul," Adriel replied, crossing his legs. "Though that drink tasted soulless in the first place. Don't you have any milk or sugar?"
Ein ignored the comment, pouring the coffee down the drain. "So how does this work, exactly? You can touch objects, but not people?"
"Seems that way. And no one can see me except you. You're stuck with me, and I'm stuck with you," Adriel drawled. "Unfortunately."
A shrill ding interrupted them. Ein sighed and went to get his phone. He could've sworn he hadn't turned the sound on. Must've been the ghost's antics.
There was a barrage of unread messages from "Jolly Wings."
[Drop by the chicken shop at 7, special hour! I'll give you a discount] 2:15 AM
[A good discount~] 2:15 AM
In their little organization's "business" language, a discount meant news. Either "I'll give you a talking to" after a slip up at one of the jobs, or "come get some good news!"
Ein wasn't a fan of either. Even good news from the boss weren't necessarily good.
[Oi, why aren't you checking the messages? You better show up] 6:07 PM
"You're getting texts from... a chicken shop?" Adriel asked, leaning over his shoulder. "Those ads are definitely something. Marketing's intense these days, huh?"
"It's not marketing, and I'm not a customer," Ein remarked, setting his phone on the table to go get dressed.
Adriel followed him to the bedroom. "Then who is it? A friend?"
"Friend? Sure, let's say that," came a dry reply and a door slam.
The ghost stumbled back from the impact. "Hey! You've got to stop doing that! I know I'm dead, but slamming the door in my face is still rude! Hurts my feelings, you know!"
"Go away if you don't like it," Ein's muffled voice came from the other side of the door.
"Dream on! I'm not leaving until you help me!" Adriel exclaimed, knocking obnoxiously.
✧ ✧ ✧
Rain was in full force, wetting the streets and drumming on the hood of Ein's black parka. That day, he unfortunately found out that his jacket wasn't entirely waterproof.
Adriel on the other hand, was hopping along completely dry and oblivious to the cold rain. Ghost benefits.
"Are you sure we're going to the right place? Downtown's the other way. This place is deserted," Adriel remarked, looking around.
"Mhm."
Ein didn't want to acknowledge the ghost's presence in public. Although, there wasn't anyone on the streets of the industrial neighborhood past six in the evening.
As they crossed the corner, they were blinded by the only neon sign on the entire street. Yellow letters cast a bright shiny light that reflected on the wet roads, bringing attention to this place called Jolly Wings.
"It looks like it's closed," Adriel noted, staring into the dark interior. "Maybe come back tomorrow?"
Ein said nothing, pushing the door open. The bell above greeted him with a cheerful cling, cling, echoing as he stepped in.
Besides the bell chimes, it was dead silent. All tables except one were cleaned and shrouded in dim light that came from under the crack of the kitchen door.
Adriel was tiptoeing around cautiously. "There's no one here. Are you sure we're allowed to enter?"
Ein walked towards the kitchen door, but stopped before entering. His hand hovered over the door knob as whispers and murmurs reached from inside. He drew a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
"Is something wrong?" Adriel asked, breathing down his neck.
Ein swung the door open without an elaboration. As if on cue, a cloud of colorful confetti slapped him right in the face, sticking to his rain-soaked jacket and dampened face.
"Happy birthday!" came a loud exclamation from a crowd of three.
Adriel covered his mouth in surprise. "Oh my gosh, you decided to throw me a surprise party? Aw, you didn't have to! When did you plan this? I know I said I don't like parties, but I can make an exception this... time..."
His voice faded out as he saw Ein's tired frown.