Chapter Text
Wednesday marked the third night in a row of that strange customer coming in to ask for a copy of Nosferatu: Evil Strikes Again!, and the third night in a row of Kaine informing him that he can't rent a movie that hasn't been released yet.
"Can you check in the back or something?," the customer asked, again, for the third time.
"This is literally impossible, bud. Just go see it in theaters in August," Kaine would say, and turn away as the customer continued to protest.
"You don't understand, I need it right now," the customer hissed, leaning over the counter as if to intimidate Kaine, "Just fucking give it to me."
This exact routine always played out at around 10 pm, not awfully late but certainly late enough to be irritating. Kaine noted some other weird things about him, despite the movie stuff, like how he always wore long sleeve shirts in mid-June and found bright red contacts appropriate at all times.
"I'm sorry, I don't know how many times I have to explain to you that I can't give you something I don't have." This shift needed to be over already.
The customer narrowed his eyes.
"Fine. I'll be back in August." He said, before turning around and leaving the store. Kaine couldn't quite wrap his head around this interaction, but didn't feel like it, and began to close up for the night.
On August 1st, right before closing, that customer walked in with a ding of the bell. Kaine almost forgot about him, thinking the guy was joking, but clearly not. The customer strolled up to the counter, and rested his elbows on it.
"Please. Do you have it?"
Nosferatu: Evil Strikes Again! would come out in two weeks. Kaine would rather find out what this guy's deal is than explain this to him again.
"What's up with your eyes?," he asked. The customer froze. A silence fell over the mostly-empty store, and the customer's expression seemed to shift.
"So you just like making fun of people's eyes," the customer squinted to look at his name tag, "'Kaine?'"
"I don't know why you would think that, I'm just curious," Kaine replied, "'whatever your name-is."
"It's Kaz,"
"Well, Kaz, Nosferatu comes out on August 21st. We will not have it until then."
Kaz gives him an odd look, then leaves.
On August 21st, Kaine almost expected Kaz's arrival, leaving him strangely disappointed when the man didn't appear that day. He stared at the wall, read a book, and organized shelves, all while glancing towards the door. He ended up closing for the night and driving home, wondering why he didn't arrive. Yes, some random customer was obviously not that important, but he was amusing enough to care about.
On August 22nd, Kaine was startled by Kaz's sudden arrival at exactly 10:59 PM, the exact minute he locked the door before leaving. The customer stood still in front of him, unaware of how awkward this really was, or maybe he just didn't care.
"Nosferatu is out n-" Kaine began, though abruptly interrupted.
"I don't care about Nosferatu anymore." said Kaz, "I just came to ask a few questions, idiot."
Kaine decides to ignore the insult.
"What are you wondering?"
Kaz pauses. He stares at him for a second, dark hair falling into those weird red eyes, before speaking softly.
"Do you believe in vampires?"