Work Text:
Ray was sitting in his armchair, watching the birds fly by through the dusty windowpane. “Hmm... what to do, what to do?” Ray thought to himself, as his thoughts were swimming slowly in his head. “Hmm… Fuck. I don’t know what to do. Should I go out and maybe kill some bad guy? Or I check what movie is coming up on AMC? Nah, I have a much better idea.”
He got up and went to his table, where he left his sketchbook. He opened it and looked at his picture of a gorgeous demon woman that he drew yesterday. He grabbed his drawing utensils (pencils, pens, and markers) and started adding details. He added the lining to her eyes and lips to improve her facial expression. Added an angle to her horns to make them pointier. Made her hair flow from her horn all the way down to her lower back. He kept making small improvements here and there, which took him about half an hour. As he finished, he stood back to adore his work. “Wow, just look at her. So beautiful, and amazing, and wonderful! A true masterpiece. That’s a keeper. I should add it to my other masterpieces.” He pulled out a tack from a drawer and pinned the picture to the wall, right next to other pictures. Looking over his work, he clapped his hands in joy, only to find out that they are rather messy after drawing.
So he went to the sink and washed up. After drying his hands with a towel, he went back to the table, pulled out his phone, and took a photo of his latest masterpiece, as he wanted to publish it. He had registered on Twatter a while ago and already had a small audience. As the app loaded, he was surprised to see a decent amount of likes and comments under his posts. He took some time to answer some of the comments, posted his latest masterpiece, and closed the app.
“Well that was fun, but now it’s time for some TV and chill.” He sat down on his couch with a cup of water and a bag of chips to munch on. He turned the TV on and saw that another series of Y: The Last Man was airing. “Heh. This is a man’s world.” - he sang along to the tune as it played. - “Huh, I wonder, what would the world with no men look like? Could females survive without men? Eh, probably not. So it’s awesome that both genders are present in this world. But wait, what would a world be like if there were neither men nor women? Like what if it was just transgenders? Would they survive?” – the questions were rolling around his head like roller-skates - “I want answers. I would give a lot to see a world without men or women. I know that transgenders can't get pregnant. Hmm, maybe I should ask somebody about how the world would look without men or women. On the other hand, whom should I address? A random on the streets would probably just wet his pants.” - he chuckled to himself.
As he watched the show, the scenario became more interesting by the minute. “Honestly, I didn’t read the original graphic novels, but I would love to if I ever get my hands on a copy. And, hopefully, this show won’t be a disappointment like The Walking Dead one was.” - he murmured to himself. He took a sip from his glass and munched on a handful from the bag. The phone, that he previously set on silent, vibrated like crazy. Ray checked the screen and saw that his last masterpiece was having a blast. That has placed a smile on his face, but he also thought that Twatter can wait and the show can’t.
But everything has an end, and the show did too. As Ray watched the credits roll down, he realized that it was almost noon and he has nothing on his timetable. “UUUGGGHHH! What am I supposed to do now?!” he yelled, addressing the ceiling. The ceiling was silent, so Ray decided that he’ll just go for a walk. He got up, approached the closet, and pulled out his gun and his jacket. He decided to go outside and take a walk in the streets.
As he traversed the dark alleyways, so did his mind. And now it has met the most dreaded topic – loneliness. “For the love of… Why am I always alone? It’s been years since I got here and I still got no friends. No boyfriends, no girlfriends… Damn, I would be grateful for a transgender. Alas…” Ray sighed as his feelings had the color of forget-me-nots. His eyes were feeling wet as his thoughts were burning in his brain like smoldering charcoal. “Why am I always alone? Why? What have I done to deserve this?” A loud screeching sound interrupted his thought process. He looked down and realized he stepped on a piece of a mirror. He moved his foot and looked at his reflection in the fragments. “Heh. I guess that’s who I am - a single low-life asshole...” He couldn’t stand the sight, so he spat at the fragments, pulled his hood on, and walked away.
***
After about an hour of pointless wandering, Ray found himself in front of a bar. His tongue felt dry, so he decided to wet his whistle. Surprisingly, the bar was nice and quiet. He sat down at the bar counter and ordered himself a beer, took a sip, and looked at a neon sign through the bottle. As he was enjoying himself, a bunch of demons entered the bar. Ray gritted his teeth and pulled out his phone because he didn’t want to look at them. But his peripheral vision was against him. The demons he saw - they all seemed happy, even though most of them looked single, just as he was. The thoughts that plagued him in the alleyways started to smolder again. But he took a big sip and could almost hear the hiss. “Hey, everything has its season. I just need to be patient. I know I will find that special someone someday” A faint smile appeared on his lips and he supported it with another sip.
Suddenly, a female silhouette caught his eye. He turned around – and, indeed, a woman was sitting in a corner booth alone. Though she didn’t look exactly like a woman. “Huh. I guess she’s trans. No matter. She’s darn cute and just look at that lovely blonde hair! I bet she’s a man-eater.” As he was admiring her, he realized that she was looking back at him and their gazes crossed. He quickly turned around and took a large sip, trying to pretend that he was just another drunkard. He’d rather be seen as a drunkard than as a stalker. Suddenly, he heard a sound that came from the corner booth, which made him plunge into consternation - a giggle, which meant that he failed. He finished his beer in one gulp just to make the feet jiggle stop. He looked at his distorted reflection on the bottle’s surface and rubbed his forehead. “Damn it! What shall I do? Should I just hightail out of here? Or maybe I should just go with the flow?” He turned around again and saw that the woman was now looking directly at him, with a smile on her lips. Ray felt his blood rushing to his cheeks. The woman’s smile widened and she gave Ray a playful wink. Ray’s heart skipped a beat and he could almost feel steam coming from his ears. He turned back to the counter just to see that the empty bottle was gone. “Heh. I guess the barkeep took it away. Drat, what am I thinking?” He shook his head to try and get his thoughts in order. “Come on, brain, cooperate with me! The woman in the corner, who’s interested in me – that’s what matters! Okay, deep breaths, mate, now you are obliged to get up, approach her and introduce yourself. You have asked for a trans partner – and bam – merely hour later the wish was granted.” He took one last deep breath, flipped his hood back, and checked his reflection in the frontal camera of his phone. “Okay, here goes…”
He was about to get up when he saw that the booth was now empty. Ray hit himself on the knee and he felt tears in his eyes. “You freaking idiot… You damn slowpoke…” Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He jumped up, as if he was electrocuted, flipped himself around, and saw the woman standing right behind him, laughing. “Looking for me, dear?” Ray could feel his heart race like he had just run a marathon and his blood making his whole face red as a tomato. He just looked down at the floor, unable to say anything. Then he felt a nudge on the shoulder and heard: “Hey, boy, eyes up! I asked you a question: were you looking for me? Cat got your tongue or something?” Ray’s head felt like lead, so it took a while before he was able to look into the woman’s eyes. He opened his mouth and uttered: “I... um… maybe?” She shook her head. “Hey, quit lying! I saw you eyeballing me since I got here. So what’s spinning in that pretty head of yours? Come on, spill it!”
Ray took a deep and slow inhale and spoke: “I am sorry. I didn’t plan it, I swear. I was just drowning my sorrows in booze when you showed up. And when I saw you, my world turned upside down.” Then he remembered about proprieties. “Hey, can I offer you a drink?” The woman chuckled and then broke into laughter. Ray just sat there, not knowing how to act. After a minute, the woman calmed down and said: “I am sorry, but it has been the weirdest invitation I have heard in 20 years. But I’ll accept. Whatcha offering, handsome?” Ray felt embarrassed and rubbed his neck. “Eh… What would you like?” The woman razed her eyebrow. “Answering with a question to a question? Really?” She waved to the bartender. “Hey, two whiskeys on the rocks!” She turned to Ray. “Hey, how about you join me in that booth? It’s comfier than the counter.” Ray, with his brain still stuck in second gear, followed her without hesitation.
Just as they sat down, the woman spoke: “So, if you were so nice as to offer me a drink, let’s get acquainted. What’s your name handsome?” Ray, still making sure this isn’t a dream, answered: “Raymond. Raymond Reedus. But you can just call me Ray. And how do I call you?” She chuckled. “Raymond? Haven’t heard that name in a while. As for me, my name is Zaylee Gold, but everybody just calls me Zay.” She took a swig from her glass and continued. “So, Ray, you said that you were drowning your sorrows when we met. What sorrows plague that sweet little head of yours?” Raymond was feeling conflicted. “Why should I bedevil Zaylee with my issues? On the other hand, she asked about it and I don’t want to lie to her.” But what Ray’s brain didn’t know, is that his heart has already fallen under Zaylee’s charm. So he told her a lot about his solitude. As he finished, so was their whiskey.
He went to the counter for a refill, but the barkeep demanded payment. So Raymond had to pay upfront. He suspected the barkeep’s intentions, but he didn’t want Zaylee to see him as a miser. As he returned to the booth, he saw Zaylee looking at some photographs. As soon as he placed the glasses on the table, she twitched and hid the photos. “Oh, thanks, Ray! You didn’t have to.” She drank some whiskey and suddenly frowned. “You know, your story reminded me a little of mine. I had my fair share of loneliness. I had it all – fake friends, abusers, stalkers – you name it. There’ve been darker times when I was the abuser. Since then, I found people I can trust and I am even meeting this guy. But it all still seems like a house of cards. But when I saw you, I immediately saw that you are different. You are broken, just as I am. And it hurts me to leave you, but I have to go. Got this unmovable appointment. But it’s not the end of our connection. Here.” She placed something that looked like a card on the table. “Okay, thank you for the wonderful time, Ray. I hope to see you again.” She finished her whiskey in one gulp and took off.
Ray grabbed the card and rushed after Zaylee. Just as he passed the doors, he saw Zaylee entering what looked like a sports car, which took off the moment the door was shut. Ray let out a sigh as he watched the taillights disappear. He looked at the card that Zaylee left. It was her business card. It had her number on it and also a lipstick kiss with “Call me!” written right in the middle. Ray hid it in his inner pocket, close to his heart. Then he pulled his hood back on and slowly walked back home.
***
It was around 8:15 PM when Ray opened the doors of his apartment. He got undressed, hung the jacket and the keyring near the door, went to the closet, got undressed, and stored his day clothes and gun. Then, he pulled out the PJs from a different shelf, went to the shower, and exited it fully outfitted for sleep. Just as he was about to lay down he remembered that he needs to turn his alarm on. He looked around but he couldn’t find his phone. “Drat, where is it? Ah, yes! I must have left it in my jacket.” He went to the door and pulled the phone out, but with Ray being a little clumsy, the jacket fell to the ground. Grumbling, Ray picked the jacket up and placed it back on the hanger. Then he looked down and saw that Zaylee’s business card fell out. He picked it up and looked at it for a while. “Oh, right! I probably should check on her. Hope it’s not too late for a phone call.” So he went to the couch, sat down, and dialed the number on the card.
Zaylee just got out of the shower. She was exhausted – the meeting took more from her than she expected. As she was preparing for bed, she looked at her phone that was laying on the dressing table. There was a bunch of appointments planned for tomorrow, all listed in the calendar, but she didn’t want to see them. So she turned around and started walking away as she heard the ringtone. With a long sigh, she picked up the phone and looked at the screen. The number was unfamiliar. Zaylee’s finger was hovering above the red button when she remembered Raymond. So she answered the phone and spoke: “Who is it?” And from the other side, she heard: “Zay? Raymond speaking. We met in the bar today, remember?” Zaylee smiled: “Hello, Ray. Of course, I remember. Took your sweet time.” “Yeah, sorry about that. Traffic was hell. So, how did the meeting go?” Zaylee twisted her face. “Sorry, Ray, I’d rather not talk about it. I’d rather know more about you. What do you do for a living?” Raymond felt abashed when he answered: “Actually, I am a vigilante. What about you?” He heard a sight and then: “Yeah, I am sorry, Ray, but I don’t want to talk about it either. Looks like I fail with the topic's proposition. So how about you, Ray? Do you have a topic you want to discuss?” Richard fidgeted a bit and said: “I would like to know about you um… before all this. Is that okay with you?” Zaylee let out a chuckle. “Yeah, sure. It all started when I was a bird.” They both laughed and conversation flowed like a stream. They talked for several hours. Zaylee told Raymond about her life and Raymond told of his. They talked about who they were before they arrived in Hell.
Unfortunately, everything has a tendency to end and the sky was becoming bright. Zaylee was the first one to see the change. “Gosh, it’s almost morning already? I’m sorry, Ray, but I have to doze for a least a few hours. It’s been nice, talking and all. We should do it again sometime.” Ray also gazed through the window and answered: “No problems, Zay. I had a wonderful time too. To be honest, I never thought that I would live to see the day I had someone to talk to. Sweet dreams and an easy waking up! Bye!”
The call was finished, both Raymond and Zaylee rushed to bed to get a few winks before daylight interrupts them. It would still be a few hours before the sun would show its face over the horizon, but you can be sure – when it rises, it will shine on both of them.