***
"Haha…You're in real shit now." I laughed.
"Please…can you be proud of me for once?" ten year old Kavya cried.
"You're a gay freak. Of course I couldn't be happier."
I gasped and held my head. The overlapping voices were starting to split my head open. I cried out and the voices stopped.
My breathing laboured, my widened eyes stared at the grey carpet. Several colours swirled slightly and my eyelids were heavy.
"Oh dear…sleeping already?" Dicio laughed.
I got up and the door was wide open. My stomach laid on the ground in front of his figure while he sipped the morning coffee.
"You got some nerve showing your ass like that." he said.
He stepped towards the desk and opened the door, shuffling through the files. I groaned and pulled myself up.
"You've got some nerve talking to me like that in a workplace, you mean." I scowled.
"Maybe…"
He leaned on my desk.
"…scram."
"That's no way to talk to your colleague."
"Ha…Then, what do you want?"
"Hm? Oh, nothing. Just came here to ask you something."
"What?"
"Help me with a case."
"…What case?"
"A displacement."
"Displacement?…"
"Yup…in the system."
"What sys-"
He snapped his fingers and the whole building disappeared. My heart raced. We were surrounded by utter darkness.
"Where are we?…"
"My home."
Faint shimmers of silouhettes flew across near us. I shivered and rubbed my arms.
"It's fucking cold…"
"Well I would assume."
He grabbed a flying silouhette and smiled.
"Now then…would you like to send this soul somewhere?"
"Soul?…I-"
"Then, just give me it."
He took the person by the arm and a light flashed. The "soul" dissolved into thin air.
"Did it just…"
"Go into another universe."
My head span.
"Urgh…"
"Not a very nice place, huh?…"
His eyes were tired as he glanced in the distance. He gave me a melancholy smile and sighed.
"I won't bother you any longer. I'll explain later," he said, "till then, I'll be here waiting for the right moment to call you."
His purple eyes glowed and his lips brushed against mine.
I blinked and I was back at my desk, sitting on my office chair.
I slammed the door open and glanced around.
"Where's Dicio?" I asked.
"He quit."
"Huh?!…"
"Yeah."
I sighed. At least he didn't disappear from the face of the earth again. Fuck, I wished he didn't disappear at all.
What was I saying?! I didn't want a nuisance of a god, deity, entity, whatever bullshit he was.
At the same time…I wanted to learn more about him.
But last time he disappeared was when he was pointing a gun at my brother and his boyfriend. Would it really be okay?…
I should protect my brother.
*
Why am I here? I haven't seen my brother in so long since…since…why couldn't I remember?
"No…please…don't hate me." he cried.
I creaked the door open.
"It's okay, Mom loves you more. I'll see you in another life."
I gasped and my heart raced. Fuck…I was a horrible brother.
I knocked at his door. No answer. I knocked again. The door creaked open and a pair of eyes glared at me.
"Putain*…" he whispered.
"Is Kavya here?" I asked.
"…Why the fuck do you want to know?"
"I'm not looking for a fight, I just want to-"
"Want to what?! You did what you could, now get the fuck away. You're a selfish f-"
"Antoine. Who's there? Is that…Ayaan?"
Kavya's voice spoke. My eyes widened.
"Kavya, I-"
"You're really a fucking nuisance, aren't-"
The door opened. Kavya smiled, still in his ridiculous train patterned pyjamas.
"Come on in."
I sat at the couch. Antoine's glare pierced through my skin and I cleared my throat. His pheromones were a tiny bit too strong for my liking.
"Spit it." Antoine said.
"Look…this is going to sound fucking crazy but…do you guys know something about multiverses and stuff?…like an error or anything?…"
Antoine covered Kavya's mouth and clenched his fist.
"Get the fuck out of here before I kill you…" he snarled.
I gulped and nodded. Those were the eyes of a man who had absolute intent to kill.
Kavya pushed Antoine's hand away.
"We know something!"
My mouth gaped and Antoine sighed.
*
"So that's what happened?…" I questioned.
"Yeah…"
"Wow…no wonder he's stirring up weird shit."
Antoine sweated nervously and squeezed his eyes closed. I squinted my eyes.
"Anything your boyfriend wishes to add?"
"No." Antoine answered immediately.
How suspicious.
"Is there anything you're not telling us?" I asked.
"No…I've told everything."
He huffed and got up.
"I'm…going to go for a walk."
"We're not done talking." I said.
He clenched his clothes.
"You little fucker, have you no shame?! A woman just died and you expect us to just forget?! What if he kills us?! What if he…urgh…"
He held his head and crouched on the floor.
"Antoine! Ha…Let's talk about this another time, Ayaan."
"But-"
"Please…"
I sighed and left the apartment.
***
He got up and rubbed his eyes.
"Sorry…I just had a weird vision."
"It's okay…wanna go for a walk? Maybe some fresh air will cheer you up."
I held his hand and turned the cold front door knob.
"Hm?…"
"Oh…okay…"
*
The night sky was a deep dark blue, a twilight. The cold wind blew on our faces. Antoine shivered and I took off my jacket.
"Hey! It's cold!"
"Whatever."
I put it around him and he held back a smile.
"Thanks…"
My mouth pulled up on each side.
"Do you think autumn is going to be better than this summer?" I asked.
He chuckled.
"For sure. It'll be better than anything you have ever experienced."
He squeezed my hand and laid his head on my shoulder. Our feet dragged along the pavement, tall shadows peering on the side from the streetlights.
"I love you." I said.
"I love you too."
My lips brushed against his and kissed them gently.
"Urgh!"
Antoine choked and leaned down.
"Antoine!"
My chest tightened and he coughed.
"Ha…you didn't really think getting away would work."
The officer's voice from when Priti was alive boomed. The man floated in the air, smiling brightly, like a kid playing with their favourite toy.
"The consequences will happen soon, if you don't give up."
Antoine wheezed and my pupils shook.
"But not yet."
He disappeared and Antoine gasped for air.
"Are you okay?! What was he talking about?!"
Antoine didn't answer. I bit my lip.
"Please! Tell me what's going on!"
*Putain means fuck in French.