[ WP ] Your name is Death . You work 168 hours a week as the reaper of souls on planet Earth . You 're living on just a couple bucks above minimum wage , you like to travel , you have a crush on the reaper on planet Xenor and you secretly take 4 sugars in your coffee . Today is your first ever day off .

Death poked at the olives floating lazily in his martini, drifting slow circles through the drink. He imagined they felt much like he did right now, mostly useless, washed up and not doing much more than imagining what it might feel like to be an inanimate fruit, and with that full circle stream of thoughts he sighed and slumped lower in his barstool. His first day off and he'd ended up at a bar, a location with which he was very familiar ( the shadier ones were hotspots for souls needing to be reaped ), and he understood why they so frequently carried an atmosphere of heavy depression, hanging like a weight on their patrons' shoulders. Bars were depressing places for depressed people. 
 
 
 He'd tried to call planet Xenor's reaper. Demise, her real name was, but a coworker told him that she insisted on being called Denise, which he thought was the most adorable thing he'd heard all decade. Unfortunately, their conversation had gone like this: 
 
 `` Hey, Denise.'' 
 
 *Muffled giggles. * `` Stop, stop it!'' *Shuffling noises. * `` Hello, who is this?'' 
 
 `` It's Death.'' 
 
 `` Oh, hey, Death. Hold on a sec...'' *More laughing. * `` Could you stop, I'm on the phone! Hey, Death, sorry. What's up?'' 
 
 `` Um... are you busy today? It's my day off and I guess I was wondering if you wanted to...'' 
 
 `` Death, I'm so sorry, I have to cut you off, I've got company and work is on the other line, I'm on call. I'll catch you later!'' 
 
 `` Right, that's fine.'' But Denise had already hung up, and Death could've sworn he'd heard her shout, `` I'll be there in a sec, babe!'' before the line went dead. 
 
 He'd wandered Earth's streets for a while after that, New York City, to be exact. Then he'd checked into a hotel and taken a nap. Now he was here. It felt like the epitome of a wasted day. Not that that surprised him; he was the reaper of souls, after all, a decidedly morbid job. It was fitting that even his days off would be lackluster at best, right? 
 
 `` Right.'' Death confirmed to himself, and then glanced around nervously as he realized that he was talking to himself. He wanted to order another drink, but he could hardly afford groceries as it was. 
 
 Just as he was about to throw in the towel ( literally, he had moved to toss down the cocktail napkin he'd been toying with ), a petite looking thing slipped into the seat next to him. She was thin and pretty with long, incredibly pale blonde hair, so pale it almost appeared to be a glowing white, and skin that was oddly radiant. 
 
 `` I'll have whatever he just finished. And get him another!'' She turned her big brown eyes towards Death with a lopsided smile. He absentmindedly dropped the cocktail napkin to the floor. The woman's features were quirky and not traditionally beautiful, but something about her automatically made Death feel simultaneously soothed and nervous to be in her presence. He also felt incredibly out of place sitting next to her, so clearly out of her league. 
 
 `` Uh. Hi. Do I know you?'' Death spoke in his usual deadpan voice. He was already figuring out excuses to decline the drink she'd ordered for him and book it out of there before he had to fabricate an identity to this human. She was strangely ethereal, though, and something kept him there. For just a minute longer, he told himself. He'd see what she wanted. 
 
 `` Nope, but I know you. You're Death, right? Why are n't you reaping?'' 
 
 Death startled upon hearing his own name, too shocked to ask her how the hell she knew who he was. Well, at least she was n't human, then, but he was n't aware that another unearthly being was scheduled to be on Earth at this time. An Angel out of place, perhaps? 
 
 `` It's... it's my uh, day off.'' 
 
 `` Oh, man, what did you do? Anything cool?'' She seemed so engaged, like nothing existed except for Death. Her eyes were full of more hope than Death had seen in ages. 
 
 He decided to lie to impress her. 
 
 `` Yeah, I hung out with a friend. A few friends. For a couple hours. They just left here, actually.'' He attempted a jovial smile. It probably looked more serial killer than anything else, which was fitting. It did n't phase the woman. 
 
 `` That's definitely a believable story you told there. But I'm an optimist, I'll choose to believe you.'' Her laugh was like a thousand delicate wind chimes. Her demeanor was so open and pleasing, so warm, that Death managed to laugh with her, not even that embarrassed that she'd called him out, *almost* forgetting how cute she was. 
 
 `` Well, thanks for the drink, uh... what did you say your name was?'' 
 
 `` I did n't.'' The woman shifted her body towards him and extended a hand, smiling softly. `` It's my pleasure. They call me Afterwards.''
