Chapter Text
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BE—
Azure groaned as he reached over to shut off the alarm clock. Blindly feeling around in the dark, he finally found the off button before sleepily turning back around.
’It’s too early for this.’ He thought.
It should be 5 in the morning right now, and he had to be up and ready for various early morning tasks by 6.
Rubbing his eyes blearily, he counted his losses and got up.
Spawn, when was the last time he had a full night of rest?
Whatever. He needed to focus. Shaking away the sleep, Azure yawned and moved a hand through his hair.
Walking to the bathroom, he splashed his face with cold water and stared into the mirror.
Azure winced. When was the last time he actually ate something? He looked.. gaunt. He looked like he went through unimaginable horrors (which, for the record, he didn’t). At least he could cover his face with his hat.
After spending a considerable amount of time mentally berating himself, Azure decided to stop being a loser and actually dress himself. It was his turn to help clean the prayer room today, as well as the member’s chambers, despite the fact that he didn’t even live there.
Azure sighed. He was glad to live so close to the church, in his own apartment. Maybe he had some weird neighbors, but it was nice to have privacy.
He grabbed his hat and gloves, putting them on securely before locking the door and leaving his apartment. He glanced at his phone to check the time — 5:37.
Jeez, he took longer than usual today. He really needed to get his head together.
Azure walked down the corridor to the elevator, and before he even approached it, noticed a piece of paper taped to the elevator doors.
Just great! He held out a little hope that it wasn’t broken, considering he was too far away to actually see what the sign said, but with his luck?
’Elevater broken :( sory:(‘
Azure’s eye twitched. His— he might just kill his landlord, the cheap bastard. The damn sign wasn’t even spelled correctly!
‘What a wonderful day to live on the sixth floor,’ he thought.
Azure pinched the bridge of his nose and sulked as he dragged himself to the stairwell.
The old, gross, and frankly, probably haunted stairwell. Today really was his day, wasn’t it?
He pushed open the door with more force than necessary, and slammed it shut soon after. He stomped down the stairs, floor by floor until he finally reached the ground floor.
Azure greeted the nice old lady who always waved at him while leaving, and stepped outside to be met with the sweltering summer heat.
It was the middle of July, and Azure could already feel himself beginning to sweat. How was it already so hot? It was 6 in the morning!
At least the church was only around three streets away. It would only take around five minutes to reach, and there weren’t too many people around.
He made his way across the road, hurrying to get to the sweet, sweet air conditioning inside.
Azure glanced over at the new Café as he walked through the crosswalk. Inside, he saw a barista that looked vaguely familiar, but he brushed it off. He really wanted out of this heat.
Finally, he made it; it took him a little over five minutes.
“Oh, Azure!”
Interrupting his thoughts, he hears a deep voice call out his name. Azure looked over his shoulder, seeing a fellow churchgoer. What was their name again?
”Um, hi.” He tries, awkwardly.
How does this person know him? He wracks his mind for any instances of them meeting, but can’t conjure up anything. Guess he’s going to have to settle for playing pretend.
”You’re here to help clean, right?—” He nods “—Wonderful!” They clasp their hands together, ushering him towards the door to the supply closet.
Alright then.
He gets handed a mop, and gets led to the prayer room. Surveying the floor, it doesn’t seem too dirty, but then again, they don’t really do anything in this room. It shouldn’t be too bad.
Eventually, he finishes cleaning the prayer room, rearranging a couple of things. Along the way, he sees a shiny two-pronged dagger in a cabinet. He pulls it off the shelf and examines it, muttering “cool,” under his breath before hastily putting it back.
The Spawn probably wouldn’t be too pleased with him messing around its stuff.
Azure finds Nameless (he really, really needs to learn their name) in the shared quarters for those who stay at the church.
They direct him to a different room, and together, the two of them finish off all the work.
”Hey, where’s everyone else?” He asks, in the middle of changing some sheets.
They glance over at him, “They’re all Y’know… praying? It’s like 8 now, I think.”
”Oh,” Azure says, feeling dumb. That much time had passed? “It doesn’t feel like two hours have gone by, haha.”
He feels the blush creep up his cheeks in embarrassment when Nameless says “You’re funny, Azure.”
”Yeah..” He says, mouth dry.
Great, he thinks. I probably look like an idiot right now.
They continue to make light conversation throughout the day, and Azure finds that it’s actually a nice change of pace from his average routine.
They’re both exempt from prayer, because of cleaning duty, and Azure enjoys casually chatting with people. When was the last time he did that?
It’s nearly 7pm when they finish. It probably shouldn’t have taken that long, but they did some extra cleaning because it was tacked onto them.
”Might as well,” he had said, “We do get to skip out on a bunch of stuff."
And now they were here. Azure was ready to go home, but Nameless had recommended the coffee shop at the end of the block.
”Their coffee is really good, like, heavenly,” They said. “You should try it some time, tell me what you think!”
Azure had hummed noncommittally, but he actually was sort of curious now. Plus, they apparently had tea, too. Maybe the caffeine would wake him up more.
He said goodbye to Nameless and walked to the cafe. There was a little jingle when he opened the door, and he saw that barista from earlier again. Had they been here all this time?
They were pretty, he thought, before blinking. What?
They were unsettling, he revised. A smile that was a little too wide to be natural, and standing upright stiffly. It looked uncomfortable.
”Hello, what may I get for you today?” They said politely.
Azure immediately noticed the mark of Spawn on their shirt, and he brightened up. Maybe they weren’t so bad. Plus, there was a conversation starter!
Spawn knows he needed a reason to be more outgoing.
”Hi, do you guys have tea?”
Azure scanned their nametag — it read: Two Time.
He scrunched his nose. What kind of name was that? Okay, weird, but whatever. His name was Azurewrath, so he really couldn’t judge.
”Of course! We do also serve tea. What kind would you like?” They answered.
”Oh, whatever is fine.” Azure tried for a smile, although it probably looked more like a grimace.
What was he doing? Azure felt himself blush as Two Time looked at him questioningly. Those eyes… it was like they were looking straight into him.
”Whatever you wish.” They said, after what felt like years. Then, they smiled at him, and it was different this time. It felt warmer.
Azure felt like he was going to explode then and there.
Five minutes later, he was handed his tea.
”Here is your tea. I made an Earl Grey for you. Hopefully you’ll enjoy it.” And after a moment’s hesitation: “Have a wonderful day, and may you be blessed by Spawn.”
Azure was dumbfounded until he remembered that he was actually standing in front of a person and had to be polite — he blinked twice and offered another smile.
”Yeah, you too… Two Time.”
Two Time seemed to be surprised by his response and waved a little goodbye as Azure hastily left the cafe.
Hurrying home, Azure noticed that he had a hot tea in his hands.
It was the middle of summer, and he was practically melting.
Huh.