Cass just laughed. “Nah, it’s part of the deal. He was right on that. Messages from afterlifers, by nature, must be somewhat of a riddle. It’s a whole free will thing. There aren’t many rules that restrict the higher ups, but not interfering in free will is a big one. If you outright tell someone what to do, that’s definitely interfering in free will. Giving hints and setting people on a path… Well, that’s a gray area. I suppose they could just tell you what to do, but I’m mortal, and I’m involved, so they can’t outright tell us what to do. It would upset the order of the universe.”
Cassius got out of bed at that, and Kushiel blushed at seeing his naked body. His own body responded to the sight, and based on the look Cassius shot him, the man obviously realized. He had a look in his eyes that promised something carnal, but Kushiel heard a throat clearing from out in the hallway.
Cassius hung his head, muttering, “Fuck,” under his breath. Then he yelled, “Just a minute, Aunt. We aren’t decent.”
“Yes dear, I kind of figured, but I heard voices so I knew you were up, and I didn’t want you to get sidetracked before we chatted,” Aunt Ro’s voice called out from the hallway.
Kushiel raised an eyebrow. “How did you know it was her?” he whispered.
“Because she does that annoying throat clearing thing when she wants my attention,” he whispered back. Then Cass raised his voice loud enough for it to be heard in the hallway. “And sheknows she isn’t supposed to interrupt me when I’m in bedorbarge into my private spaces.”
“Well I didn’t barge in, now did I?” she griped from outside.
“Listening in is just as bad!” Cass yelled back.
“Well it saves time, doesn’t it? I heard the end of your discussion and I’m mostly filled in on the important details,” she called back.
Kushiel had the urge to laugh at the two of them, but he wisely refrained. Instead he got out of bed, his white, flowing pants and his scarf appearing on him with a thought. Cass stared at him grumpily before reaching over to pull on his own pants.
“This was not my plan for the morning,” he muttered, walking into the bathroom. He continued to mutter in there, and Kushiel made out something having to do with angels and ghosts not having to properly get dressed or deal with hygiene issues.
Kushiel decided perhaps it would be best if he went and tried to fix some breakfast while Cass got ready.
When he opened the door, Aunt Ro and the ghost were both hovering in the hall. Actually literally hovering, which is something Kushiel hadn’t seen before.
When she saw him, she floated down and planted her feet on the ground, watching as the ghost did the same. “Lovely, dear!” she enthused. “See, you’re getting the hang of things quite well!” She leaned toward Kushiel then, whispering, “Poor thing doesn’t really know much about what they can do as a ghost. It’s been quite a learning experience.”
Kushiel nodded, not sure what to say. He didn’t really know what ghosts could do either, and he wasn’t sure it was wise to admit as much to Aunt Ro. He seemed to be in her good graces at the moment, and he really didn’t want to spoil that.
“Cass is getting ready, and I thought I’d fix us some breakfast,” Kushiel told her.
Aunt Ro smirked at him. “Did you? How sweet. Worked up an appetite, eh?”
Kushiel wisely ignored her, traipsing down the stairs toward the kitchen. Unfortunately she followed. By the time Kushiel reached the kitchen, he realized his problem—he really had no idea how to cook breakfast. He wanted to do something nice for Cass, but he wasn’t sure how he would accomplish it without mucking things up. He vaguely recalled cooking over a fire in the 1800s… Or maybe that was the 1700s? At any rate, it had been quite some time ago, and it had been in the service or talking with a soul in Limbo who needed to work through their guilt.
He thought they might’ve been a cook for an upscale family. He seemed to recall that they might have poisoned some very bad people, and that was why they felt guilty. So perhaps that wasn’t the best example to model breakfast after.
He must have looked lost standing there in the kitchen, because Aunt Ro sighed dramatically, then she started barking out orders at him. He wisely did not question her and started getting out her list of ingredients.
Cooking was surprisingly stressful, although maybe that was Aunt Ro’s constant stream of directions.
“No dear, go stir the eggs now. Wait, you didn’t finish grating the cheese? Well hurry up back to it. These things are time sensitive, you know. What time did you put the bacon in? Never mind, I’ll check it,” she ordered, and Kushiel barely even blinked when she simply stuck her entire head inside the closed oven to check the bacon.
Ghosts were an odd bunch, that was for sure.
Nevertheless, he never would have accomplished breakfast without her, despite how frazzled he felt and his firm desire to have more than two hands to do all the work. By the time Cass was coming down the stairs, he was plating two lovely lookingomelettes, and orange juice and coffee were already on the table for both of them.
Aunt Ro hmph’d, whether in approval or not, Kushiel wasn’t sure, but he was rather proud of his efforts. He hoped Cass agreed.
Cass walked into the kitchen still looking grumpy, but when he saw Kushiel holding two plates of food, his face split into a grin. “Aww, you cooked for me?” he said, walking over, grabbing a plate, and kissing Kushiel on the mouth.
Just pecked Kushiel’s lips like it wasn’t a big deal at all. Like it was something they did every morning. Like it was perfectly normal to kiss the gray angel.
Kushiel stood there, dumbfounded and more than a little pleased. Cass made it to the table before he turned around and smiled softly at Kushiel.
“Come join me, Kush,” he smiled.
So Kushiel did, and if he smiled more broadly then he ever remembered smiling before, well, who could blame him?
