Transparent ✖️

2 - Cold Body

"He did what?"
"He literally peed himself, and everyone started laughing — me included. A side of me felt bad, then the other one was dying of laughter. You should've seen the disappointment in the teacher's face." You said, explaining in detail the memory you had back in high school, chuckling as you said it out loud.
"Oh my! Haha!"

Your ghostly friend's laugh made you smile. It was so genuine, so soft but loud, so... adorable. He wiped inexistent tears away, and sighed after finally settling down.
"I haven't laughed as much in a while. Thank you." He smiled.
"Hehe, don't thank me, thank Nik for that." You chuckled with joy.

At that exact moment, Nik opened the door with a loud bang, and rushed into the kitchen with two-three plastic bags full of stock.
"God! The line was SO long. This is why I hate going outside. Inside with anime is so much better. Ogh!" He placed the bags on to the kitchen table. Your friend gazed at you, and had a confusing look on his face. "Um.. [y/n]? Why are you laughing on your own?"
You jolted and looked at him, your smile disappearing. "I was uh..." you quickly took your phone, "... I was on my phone! Saw a funny meme haha.."
"Right..." he said, not convinced. You didn't blame him, your phone was on the table to your left beside the couch, faced downwards, and you were looking to the right. If only he knew Diarmuid was there...

"Hey, don't worry. Just act natural. Like I'm not here." The ghost Servant made a visibly forced smile.
You glanced very quickly at him while Nik wasn't looking, and kept your slightly saddened face.
"It's fine. Go spend time with him. I'll be here." He kept the smile plastered on his face like a mask.
You got up, not wanting to hear any more. Diarmuid might have taken it personally, and got up, going through the window to sit on the balcony.

Time passed as you and Nik spent the day together, laughing, talking, even going to the park. At that moment, you felt bad for Diarmuid, and didn't know how he managed all this time before you came. Because of those thoughts invading your mind, you dazed out often, and saw your best friend wondering what was wrong, and having doubts.
Finally, at the end of the day, after you went to a restaurant, you came home.

"I am le BURNT. Which one is my room?" He asked.
You pointed at the only other room apart from your own, which was at the other end of the apartment from where your room was.
"Alright, I'll go to bed. Good night, [y/n]!" He took his bags and went into his bedroom, closing the door after he went in.

Sighing, you looked at the fridge, opening it, and it was packed with food. You wondered if you even put all this food away, and realized you didn't. You and Nik were out most of the day and had forgot to put everything away. But then... how?

"Hey... you're back.." you heard a voice tiredly say.
Looking up, you saw Diarmuid rubbing his eyes, like if he had woken up moments before. "Hey... Did you—"
"Yeah..."
"How? I thought you couldn't touch things— I couldn't touch you..."
"Well, if I force myself and pour all my energy into it, I can temporarily touch things and be touchable. However, I..." he yawned, "... I get very tired and need to take a rest for a while, depending on how much energy put into it and how long I use it."
You closed the fridge, and walked over to him. The Servant looked at you, confused.
"[y/n]?"
You tried to touch his nose, and you went through his face. You took your hand away. "Do it."
"Do what...?"
"So I can touch you."
His eyes widened, and you saw him blush. "R-Right.." Diarmuid inhaled slowly, nodding a moment afterwards. He suddenly seemed more alive, more human. When you went to touch his nose again, your finger stopped at the tip of his nose, and you saw him slightly jump in surprise.
"You're...." you started.
"W-What?" Diarmuid questioned.

"You're cold."

Before he could retort anything back, you wrapped your arms around his torso, your head against his chest since he was taller than you, and you hugged him tightly. You felt him slowly calm down, his muscles loosen from being so stiff, and hug back.
The moment lasted until you suddenly went through him. You were surprised, and stumbled a little bit.
"Ah, I should try and keep the most energy I can get. I just woke up from my sleep, so.." Diarmuid looked away, scratching the back of his head.
"R-Right. Sorry." Sighing, you sat on the couch.

"Did you have a favorite show?" You asked to break the sudden silence looming between you both.
"If I had... a favorite TV show?" He repeated.
"Yes."
"Not really. I used to turn it on and fall asleep. That's... the main reason why I don't do that now. If I turned it on for too long, the people who live here would be freaked out." Diarmuid sat down next to you.
"Well, now I'm here, so..." you had a small smirk crawl up your face.
"But aren't you going to sleep in your bed?"
"Eh, I like the couch better."
"Isn't your bed more comfortable?" He questioned again.
"Sure, but I don't feel like getting up to go to my room, so the couch is basically my bed." You shrugged.
Diarmuid sighed in defeat, and that brought both of your smiles into light.

The sun slowly descended onto the horizon, its bright orange and yellow rays of light shining throughout your small neighborhood. Your apartment had the best lookout. Up to the 8th floor, you weren't too high, but high enough to get a beautiful view of the green fields and the ocean beyond. The sunset completed the beauty, and as you looked outside, the Servant followed your gaze and smirked at the awe in your eyes. You never saw anything so beautiful before. Ireland was a good destination; a good place to start over your life.

Before you knew it, the sun disappeared behind the horizon and the moon took its place in the sky. Slowly, you were falling asleep on the couch, leaning on the armrest.
"You should get in bed." Diarmuid softly spoke, being in front of you, crouching down to your level.
"I'm fine....." You mumbled, a little trickle of drool slowly being visible on your lower lip.
You heard him scoff of laughter, and he sat back down next to you. "Alright, if you say so."

Your eyes closed and your consciousness faded. Sudden cold arms wrapped around you, and finally changed your position; a cold arm behind your back, and the other under your knees. Even though they were chilling, you found yourself comfortable in them, and snuggled your face in to, most probably, the chest of the person. It lasted shortly, since your body gently got laid down onto the bed. Blankets covered you, and your hand instinctively reached out to those cold arms.

But to no avail.
It fell onto the bed, and your deep slumber took you away.

"I'm sorry." A soft voice said before fading away.