Morlen stared at Miss Pecan for a long while. He didn't know what to say at first. He was so conscious of the silence that he forgot to think of things to say. The woman who had been teaching Morlen's son art for over a year was his mother. Processing the information would take time. Morlen had about 70% left to load.

"Do you and the Reaper have different lives?" Morlen asked, sitting back down on one of Alfie's velvet black chairs. The medium's office had a strange feel to it. Morlen would've liked to sit in the office alone. He would have found it extremely calming. He was even tempted to touch Alfie's huge collection of gems and stones.

"It's hard to explain. In my human form, I have desires to follow my human traits. For example, I get rather sad if I don't fill my time with activities that I'm passionate about which is art. My human form loves art which explains why Koda loves art too."

"What about my dad?" Morlen asked, staring with his eyes like sharp shards of glass. The subject was uncomfortable, but he had to know.

"He's dead. He has been for a while. He wasn't a nice man and personally, I would say good riddance and collecting his soul was the best day of my life," Nikki said, proudly pushing her glasses up her nose and sitting up straighter. She meant what she said. "And yes, my human traits include cravings for the touch of another human."

"Sorry I asked," Morlen muttered, realising she was just as insensitive as him. "So, do you choose humans to use until they die, and move on? I'm assuming that your Grim Reaper side is older than well- everything." Morlen's questions had been cooking since he found out that the Reaper existed. He would wake up in the night with questions. After being introduced to the world of the paranormal, Morlen often caught his mind drifting on what else he could learn. Sometimes, he was plunged to his childhood.

"Yes, that's exactly what I do. Only with this body, I had a child. Awfully painful if you ask me," Miss Pecan chuckled.

"I didn't ask." Morlen stood up and released a long sigh when Miss Pecan did too. "This is too strange."

"Let me spend some time with you. Let's get to know each other," Nikki Pecan said quickly, hurrying around her son before he reached the door. Her jewellery jingled against each other. For an old lady, she could move fast.

"No thanks," Morlen said bluntly.

"Do you need more time?"

"Look," Morlen said and crossed his arms, "I'm guessing that you have no idea what you're doing, so I'll say this..." He leaned closer with an intimidating scowl. "Stop trying. I don't care."

Miss Pecan slowly reached up to touch his cheek, but Morlen flinched away. "I'm sorry that you're hurting. I'm sorry that you're overwhelmed. When you leave this room, go to Connor. He can help distract you from your grief," she said.

Morlen clenched his jaw, and Nikki saw the sadness in his eyes. "I'll do what I want," he growled and shoved her aside.

Nikki Pecan watched him storm down the corridor. She leaned against the door frame, twisting one of her long metal necklaces around her finger. "That's my boy," she smiled.

* * * * *

Alfie put his reading glasses on and sat at his desk to write about how summoning the Grim Reaper felt. It was important for him to keep a journal of who he summoned and what he was capable of when he used his strengths. He also wrote down the side effects. In this case, his headache was extreme and his nose bled a substantial amount.

Koda stood by the window and pretended to watch the setting sun, but he stared at Alfie in the reflection, smiling to himself. "You look so cute with those on."

Alfie ignored him and started writing faster. Ever since Koda stormed into his office and pinned him to the wall, there was an unspoken tension between them. The tension was far from bad. Alfie could barely concentrate. All he wanted was to press himself against the boy on the other side of his bedroom.

Koda felt the same. There was something about the way Alfie looked at him when he was in his sidekick state. Alfie's eyes always filled with sincere admiration.

After a while of watching the sky turn from pink to red, to a musky purple, Koda wandered to Alfie, dragging the armchair with him, so he could sit and watch him write.

"Is this a ghost journal?" Koda asked.

"No, it's... actually yes, yes, it is." Alfie raised an eyebrow. "And it's a Koda-free zone, so don't touch it."

"I won't," Koda smiled and pushed himself back when Alfie kept peering at him from over his shoulder. "What else is a Koda-free zone?"

Alfie smirked and shut his journal. "Nowhere."

"Nowhere? That's a dangerous answer."

"Why?" Alfie could feel the darkness creeping around Koda. He watched Koda's smile turn mischievous.

"Nothing else is off limits to me?" Koda leaned forwards. He couldn't explain what happened to him when he thought about being affectionate with Alfie. He felt a burst of confidence and leakage of his inappropriate thoughts.

Alfie bit his lower lip and turned on his chair. He leaned closer too, so their faces were a foot apart. "It depends on what you're talking about," Alfie said, and Koda's eyes traced him from his feet to his lips.

Koda pulled the armchair even closer, so he could place his hands on Alfie's knees. They stared into each other's eyes as Koda's hands moved up Alfie's jeans. "What do you think I'm talking about?" Koda asked. If the darkness were not speaking for him, he would stutter over every word.

Alfie's eyes flicked to Koda's hands as they moved up his thighs. Koda's pupils were large and full of a longing for lust. "I think it's pretty clear," Alfie whispered and moved forwards on the chair, so Koda's hands landed by his hips and close to an area that was usually off-limits to anyone, but not Koda, not today.

The tension was too much. Alfie practically threw himself onto Koda's lap, and their lips smashed together. Koda's arms coiled around Alfie, securing him to his body as they kissed like they would never be able to kiss again.

Usually, Alfie didn't like to be touched. He hugged his parents but would never let a stranger hug him. He found the physical contact too uncomfortable. Koda's touch was something entirely different. As Koda's hand slipped under Alfie's t-shirt, Alfie shuddered at the heat. His skin screamed with pleasure when Koda's hand pressed harder into his spine.

Their lips moved together perfectly and roughly, tasting each other and letting their feelings cultivate for when they kissed deeper.

Koda clumsily climbed out of the chair and turned to the bed, but Alfie mumbled, "The door, lock it." They barely separated their lips as Koda stumbled to the door. Alfie relaxed into him when he heard the familiar click. Nobody would interrupt them.

Koda found the bed and fell on it, pulling Alfie up to the cushions as he crawled over him. Their lips never separated, and their kissing deepened. With each press of the lips, a ripple of affection disturbed Alfie's voice telling him to calm down. He didn't want to settle. With each breath, Alfie wanted more and more. He wanted Koda's hands to trace every inch of him.

Koda's hand moved from Alfie's back to the bottom of his t-shirt. He lifted it to his chest, exposing Alfie's stomach. Koda kept tugging on it until Alfie lifted his arms, so Koda could pull the t-shirt over his head. Koda threw it on the ground and paused for long enough to take his own top off before their lips stuck together again.

Alfie's hands felt Koda's shoulder blades moving against his palm. He smoothed his hands slowly down Koda's back, hyper-aware of his muscles moving as Koda's hands traced Alfie too. Koda's granddad's necklace dragged against Alfie's chest. The metal was cold and a constant reminder of how close their bodies were.

There was a candle lit on Alfie's bedside table. Lavender was strong, but all they could smell and taste was each other. Alfie was breathing hard when Koda's lips lowered down his neck, kissing over his collarbone and down his chest. Alfie's fingers buried in Koda's hair when Koda kept kissing lower and lower until his lips hovered by the waistband of Alfie's jeans. Koda's hands travelled down Alfie's sides and lingered by the button.

Koda picked at the metal button for a moment, kissing around Alfie's hips. With one swift action, Koda unbuttoned Alfie's jeans and undid his zip. Koda was aware that Alfie had paused to watch him. He looked up with questioning eyes.

"Are you relaxed?" Koda asked, and Alfie nodded. "Can I?" Koda asked, curling his fingers around the waistband. Alfie nodded, and Koda climbed over him again to connect their lips while he tugged Alfie's jeans off.

Alfie also searched for Koda's trousers and had the awkward task of unbuckling his belt without being able to see what he was doing. Koda helped him, and soon, they were both kissing in their underwear.

Koda's fingers eventually made their way to the band on Alfie's underwear. They were so wrapped up in the affection that neither of them cared when they pulled off the thin bits of fabric that separated their skin from touching sensitive areas.

"Alfie," Koda breathed as their bodies rubbed together. He was hot and out of breath. "I love you."

Alfie had never been so intimate with someone. He had never been so vulnerable and so trusting at the same time. "I love you too," he mumbled against him as Koda teased him by running his fingers up and down Alfie's thigh.

"Are we going further?" Koda asked. Their bodies mushed together, and their faces couldn't get any closer. "You said you weren't quite ready-"

"I'm ready now, but whether we go further or not, this feels amazing."

Koda didn't know if he meant the feel of their bodies moulding together, or being able to move their affection so profoundly, or the fact that they were developing their relationship status. Koda liked to think he meant all of them.

Without saying more, the boys kissed with the relief of knowing that if they took the next step, they wanted it.