"Who's your favorite zomenby?" Rellek clapped happily.
Dao looked up from his files and gave them a death stare. "Not even a week ago you bit off my ear."
"Not the point. My point is, you don't even know any other zombie who's an enby. I've got to b...
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There were multiple reasons why zombies were not on Dao's list of prospective roommates.
In the undead localities of South Kolkata, the extra sturdy build of the house and its fittings were a given. On top of that, Dao's flat was an old one, so the materials used were not mixed with too much fluff like the new buildings these days. Dao could have got himself another flat in a newer building, but he had sort of grown fond of his neighbors over the years. As a member of the association of flat-owners of the building, he had been paying the maintenance fee regularly and getting his repairs done every now and then. Dao knew that it could withstand rough handling. Vampires are quite known for their strength, after all. However, Dao wasn’t sure if his flat had the strength to withstand the brute force of zombie muscles.
Rel went in and out of rooms with a bang. Literally. They seemed to be unaware of the way they slammed doors behind themself and how the building shook with each slam. To top that, their uncoordinated zombie movements made them prone to crash into the furniture more than often. Rel misjudged their own speed and momentum too often.
The worst had been when Rel had entered Dao's room for the first time to ask about his wound. They had brought the zombie home and sent them straight to the bathroom with a bar of fragrant soap, in the hopes of getting the typical zombie sink out of the way. Dao had heard Rel come out of the shower but he was still in his room, changing out of his jeans, already feeling the night's exhaustion creeping up his body. Suddenly, the door to his bedroom flew open and crashed against the wall on the other side. Wrapped in a towel from their chest to knees, Rel stood there with a grimace on their face.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to open the door like that. Nice shorts, by the way." Then they took a good look at Dao's shorts, and asked, "Oh my, is this a bad time?"
There was a single banana printed on his shorts, right where it looked conspicuous.
In a moment of panic, Dao, acutely aware of his half naked situation, tried to take off the rest of his jeans, but instead, got his feet tangled in the bunched up garment. He came down with a thud that made Rel rush in to help him.
"Daomir! Are you okay?"
Daomir would probably not be okay after hearing his crush call him by his name for the first time right after seeing him in nothing but a pair of banana shorts but otherwise, Dao was okay.
Rel leant in to help him up but their faces were close, too close in Dao's opinion. Just the next moment, Dao's brain registered the feel of the zombie's sandy skin. The texture of it was not his ideal, not as soft as his own, which was adequately moisturized and manicured. He liked to take care of his body. Rel's was typical of the dry and cracked skin zombies tended to have. But they were warm. As all vampires were, Dao too was perpetually cold. Rel's warmth was what Dao wanted to touch. Love didn't seem to mind rough hands and skin that had a greenish tinge to it from the veins and blood vessels that threatened to break the surface. It sought the warmth and the feeling of their hand fit into his. That was all Dao needed for now.
