“I’ll think about it.”

  With that, Ever power walked down the street, leaving Mimi standing outside the house, tail still.

  Ever noticed that he had been walking faster than usual. Part of the reason was that he had been late quite a bit and didn’t want to make it a habit. Second was that it kept him warm. Now that it was October, the mornings were getting pretty crisp; two layers were barely keeping him warm, especially at night. On more than one occasion, he had been woken up shivering in the darkness, forced to turn into reaper form to numb his senses until the morning.

  There were some obvious benefits to Mimi's proposition: he wouldn’t have to go between two different places, nor walk so far with her food. He already had the key too; the dog spoke sense.

  Ever’s other pocket buzzed. Was it Logan? Ever wasn’t late… yet. He deftly pulled his phone out, unlocked the screen and looked at the notification, pleasantly surprised it wasn’t his boss.

  “Morning ice cream boy.”

  Ever smiled. He started walking and typing on his phone, thumbs confidently navigating the on-screen keyboard.

  “Morning vet” His thumb hovered over the ‘Send’ button, before deleting the last word and retyping. “Morning Zoe.”

  “How are my patients doing?”

  “Good.” He looked both ways, crossing the road. “I’ve just fed Mimi.”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  The incoming text bubbles bounced happily on the screen.

  “Nice, wbu? What’s for breakfast?”

  Ever stopped for a moment, staring at the second word.

  wbu?

  “W-... wa… boo…” his mouth stumbled over and over. “Wa-boo…” he shook his head and kept walking. At least he understood the three words after it. Mary’s - now Mimi’s - house was at the other side of town; it wouldn’t be possible to grab his usual croissant from Luna's. His stomach bayed in protest.

  “I don’t know.” Send.

  He slipped the phone into his pocket, jogging across the road. Still a fair distance til he got to Pagoto's. If he remembered correctly, there were a few cafes further down Lygon Street that had focaccias, sandwiches and the like. Could be time to try somewhere new. Once he got onto the main road, he pulled his phone out again; it had buzzed a couple of times.

  “Question:” that was the first message. “If I was a flavor of ice cream, what would I be?” That was the second message.

  Ever read the question over and over again, absolutely bamboozled.

  *Mentor.*

  Hello, young soul. He was quick this morning.

  *Why is Zoe asking me what flavor of ice cream she would be?*

  Death started chortling. Ever pressed the pedestrian crossing button and crossed his arms, more so to keep himself warm than from impatience. By the time the little green man flicked on, Death was still going.

  *What is so funny?*

  He calmed himself down, a few more laughs bubbling through. Do you remember what flirting is?

  *Flirting?* Ever sifted through his mental archives, walking a little bit faster. *Are you saying… are you saying that Zoe likes me?*

  Believe me, a human woman wouldn’t put the image of them being a tasty treat in your mind if they hated you.