WIP Mal0 cute stuff

NOTES: WIP, Male human x Male SCP-1471, nothing explicit so far, first person narrative
Unfinished.

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   Stepping outside the surprisingly half-empty bus onto the street I’ve walked on every morning, afternoon and then some more, I couldn’t help but smile at the prospect of today’s evening and the incoming weekend, to unwind and not have to worry about work or getting up long before sunrise. What I had to worry about was food, though, and not just for me.
   “Hey Mal0, what do you want for dinner? I have an idea, but if you want something special, we can do that.” I typed in the text box of an outdated-looking app after taking out my phone. Whoever made it was probably stuck in 2008 in terms of user interface, but it was perfectly functional. And, well, I definitely couldn’t say anything bad about the application’s functionality, either; because when was the last time you’ve seen an app capable of summoning and communicating with a paranormal, clingy being that liked to hide in plain sight?
   I looked up from the screen to see the dark creature sitting on a distant bench by the store I was heading to, right next to an unsuspecting stranger. I could barely make out the white skull with blank eyes, smiling at me before he raised his hand and waved. I was tempted to wave back before settling on a friendly wink. And with that, he was gone and my phone buzzed.
   “Anything is good. Make something you like.”
   Well, that made it easier.
   “I made some broth yesterday, it would make for a great soup.”
   “What is a soup?”
   That was all I needed to know. Not that I had any idea how Mal0 would try to eat this liquid meal with his rigid mouth, but with soups being many things thrown into one big pot, I knew he was going to like it anyway. And it was easy to make, too, if a little time consuming.

   Wishing to escape the crappy music being blasted from the store speakers, I waited patiently in line to pay for the things I’ve grabbed. Vegetables and herbs, meat, liver, eggs, noodles… Yeah, that was it. Anytime I picked up a packet of something before, I felt strange for a moment, as if I was being watched. Yeah, no shit.
   “What is all that?” A message popped up. With the checkout line going slow, I had more than enough time to type out a reply.
   “All of that is for the soup. You’ll see.”
   A second later, the phone dinged again and this time, there was an attachment included with the message. I looked behind me to see if anyone was looking and, after resting assured no one could spy on what was on my screen, I opened the image.
   It was Mal0 in the… sweets section of the store? His grinning stare was fixed on the selection of chocolates.
   “You said this tastes good.”
   A moment later, a second message arrived, this time with Mal0 pleadingly looking into the camera.

   The only reply I could think of was a kiss emoji. Sending it while putting the phone back in my pocket and leaving the basket full of food in the back of the row, I ran off to get some of that sweet cocoa-filled stuff. Not wanting for someone to stumble upon my abandoned casket, I quickly grabbed a few packs before turning around and running back.
   Let’s see here… milk, that’s a classic; dark, I wonder if Mal0 will like that one; and one with cherry filling… wait, that’s actually cherry liquor filling. Oh well, it’s not like there’s any noticeable amount of alcohol in these things, right?
   Standing in the line again, I felt a strange, mild tingle all around me that disappeared just as I got another message. In the included photo, it was… me? And from behind, the black furred body of Mal0 was hugging me, his skeletal expression cheerful and his eyes bright. I had to smile at the sight of it and, as if I haven’t already, I wanted to go home even more than before.

   Finally, I left the shop, a bag of various groceries in my hand. As I walked off the main street, I appeared on a path around various apartment buildings. These streets were only dimly lit and there weren’t many people in them, and as a result, I started seeing pairs of glowing eyes looking at me from behind almost every corner. Every time I’d try to look their way, however, they’d disappear and reappear somewhere else. Although I knew precisely what was going on, I was still just a little bit unnerved.
   Even though Mal0’s game didn’t exactly make me run, I found myself at my flat’s doorstep a little bit earlier than usual. I looked through the neighbour’s window through which the hiding entity used to greet me, and sure enough, he was there, waving at me. I smiled and began frantically searching for my keys, suddenly realising how much I’ve missed him throughout the day.

   I jogged through the dark hallway and up the stairs until I arrived at another door, this time the one to my own apartment. I quickly unlocked it and shut the door behind before switching on the lights. I turned around to finally see Mal0 in the safety of my… our home. I dropped the bag I was holding on the floor, not thinking about the eggs inside, and ran up to him before jumping into an embrace. I didn’t even know why I longed for him so much, I just felt incomplete without him.
   I buried my face in the soft, fluffy fur while the pleasant, mild, wooden smoke-like scent filled my nose. At this moment, everything felt right. With Mal0, everything was.
   “Hello.” His voice rang in my head, ever-changing, yet constant and delightful. I loosened the hug a little to reach with my neck and kiss him on his skull’s cheek.
   “I’ve missed you.” I whispered, looking in his blank, yet expressive eyes. I felt a tap on the top of my head with his bony chin.
   “So have I. He replied, the sound of his mind both smooth and rough, deep and high-pitched, but always calming and lovely.

   After collecting myself, I remembered the groceries I left at the door.
   “You hungry?” I asked with a smirk.
   “Yes. I ate some things. Only raw. Cooking is very much strange. You said ‘soup’. What is a ‘soup’?”
   I gave the creature one last kiss before breaking the hug and walking away to take the bag, explaining on the way.
   “Well, soup is usually very liquidy and is made up from many ingredients. So, there are many variants, as well. Sometimes it can be more of a cream, other times it’s savoury water with a lot of things floating inside.”
   On the way to the kitchen, I grabbed Mal0’s hand to retain his communication capabilities. It didn’t take long to get a question.
   “All of that? In one bowl?”
   “Exactly. You might think that some meat water with leek and carrots would be bland, but it’s not. Let’s see here…”

   “Do you want help?” Mal0’s voice echoed in my head while I was taking out yesterday’s big pot full of beef stock. I put it on the stove and started thinking.
   “If you’re handy with a knife, you could help me cut those veggies while I make the dumplings.” I said while shifting my look from the bunch of herbs, onions and spices towards the packets of meat and liver to Mal0 and then back to the greens.
   “I would be delighted.”
   Huh, even in short and crude sentences he could be quite smooth.

   “Wait, wait, wait, Mal0, no!” I shrieked when I looked away from the raw meat I was prepping, “You need to peel the onions first.”
   “Oh. I am sorry.” The voice in my head sounded distant and quiet while the creature looked at me with a guilty look in his face, his knife already having sliced half of the first onion. I helped him get rid of the dry covers and instructed him what to do next before returning to the slabs of poultry.
   “I’m not sure if it’s gonna work on your eyes, but careful when slicing those onions. They can burn.” I warned Mal0 who was slowly but steadily making crude but usable pieces of the tangy vegetable.
   “The bulbs release gas. I like the smell. But it’s acidic. I can pass through. You can’t. You should be careful.” He said back. I chuckled and reassured him that besides some tears, the onions are harmless for me.
   “Do they make you sad?” Mal0 asked in return.
   “What?”
   “Onions make you cry. You cry when you are sad. The release from them makes you sad?”
   I had to giggle at that. Not that it was Mal0’s fault for not knowing that humans shed tears from other things than just weeping, but I found the spectre’s thought process cute. And it was another seemingly obvious thing I could explain to him; and with him being a smart, curious listener, I liked to do that.

   “Hey, that wasn’t bad at all!” I commented on the chopped onions in front of the furred creature, “Now, since there’s quite a lot of stuff that needs to be cut and sliced both for the soup and the dumplings… we could do a race, what d’you think?”
   “A contest?”
   “Yeah. I’ll do the parsley and you’ll do the basil. The winner won’t have to do the carrots. Deal?” I explained while Mal0 nodded his skull approvingly.

   Two cutting boards next to each other and roughly equal amounts of fragrant green herbs on them, I counted to three before me and Mal0 began frantically chopping the plants. At first I thought about slowing down, giving him a fair challenge, but he was much quicker than I thought he was going to be.
   So I sped up, having trouble catching up with the spirit next to me. Cut, move, cut, move, cu— I dropped the knife and let out a nasty curse as sharp pain spread through my finger while a horrible feeling grasped my mind, as if I was watching get deathly sick.
   “Ah, crap, what happened…?” The emotion quickly dissipated and when I looked at my finger, expecting to find a bleeding wound, I only saw completely healthy skin, covered in some water and bits of parsley.
   “What the—,“ I started wondering before looking off to the side while I slowly began listening to my thoughts again, hearing Mal0 quietly yelp in my head. He was holding his finger with his other hand, pressing it on his chest; the same finger I thought I damaged myself.
   “Mal0, are you okay?” I squeaked and grabbed the furred arm the creature was trying to cover.
   “I… don’t…. know… It… hurts…?” His voice in my head was distant, trembling and overlaid with static, making it difficult to hear. Not caring about the damn herbs, I wrapped my other arm around the shaking creature’s back and looked at his wound. It in itself wasn’t visible beneath the black fur, but some strange, viscous liquid of the same colour was slowly flowing out.
   “It’s just a cut, it’ll be okay. Let me see if I have some bandages here.”
   “No. It will heal quickly. It’s only minor. I was merely surprised. I’m sorry.” Mal0 denied, his voice stable again. I kept him in my embrace, listening to his breathing slowing down.

   “Mal0? But why did I feel it, too? I didn’t cut myself.” I asked after a while.
   “You did? Intriguing. Interesting…” He replied in a not really useful manner.
   “What is it?” I inquired further while I returned to preparing the soup and using the knife more carefully. Mix some blended liver, bread crumbs, an egg and spices and boom, perfection is born. Well, almost; my personal definition of perfection was standing behind me.
   “We share strong pleasure and affinity. We have for a long time. At some point, we have started sharing intense pain and fear, as well.” Mal0 explained in my head while his physical body watched me cook.
   “Wait, how did that happen?” I asked, trying to not look too taken back.
   “My manifestation here is tied to you. We are tied together until you reject me. As we become closer, we… merge.”
   “What?” I turned around, dumbfounded. Merge? As in, become one? There are limits for how even the most intimate relationships can go. Sure, I loved my demonic companion, and he was with me at all times, but I liked to stay myself. I tried to carefully explain it to the canine ghost who started shaking his head.
   “No, we don’t fuse like you think. We get united. Connected. We are still individuals. I am me; you are you. I can’t read your mind and you can’t read mine. But we grow stronger. Be able to talk from further apart. Know each other’s needs, to help each other better.”
   I slowly began processing what he just said. That didn’t sound so bad and, as I realised, we were already ‘connected’ on a deeper level than I thought to admit; spending a day without seeing Mal0 in person made me stressed and worried.
   “But what if I die? Or something really bad happens to me? Can you die?”
   “As long as you live, I live. When you die, so do I.” He said simply before explaining further, “At this point, I’m too connected to you. Your death means losing too much of myself to survive. I need you.”
   The last sentence echoed in my head while I quickly chopped the carrots before throwing them in the pot along with a big packet of noodles. Putting the lid over it, I turned around and joined with Mal0 in a hug again.
   “Don’t worry, Mal0, I won’t leave you. Never.”

   While the soup was getting done on its own on low heat, I sat down with Mal0 on the sofa in a quiet embrace; his warm, silky fur the softest of cushions and his mellow scent the sweetest-smelling of musks.
   “Hey Mal0, if we share pain… that’s kind of unfair towards you, don’t you think?” I asked while planting a light kiss on his very fluffy neck. He looked down at me confusedly.
   “What do you mean?”
   “As in, you usually don’t experience any pain by yourself, so there’s nothing for me to feel. I accidentally kick or knock myself every day. That’s kind of a big difference.”
   I felt the hands wrapped around my back tighten their grip as I slowly got lifted off the creature’s lap. He looked at me, our faces barely separated.
   “A more than acceptable price.” He said with a chalky chuckle, bringing his face closer to mine, “Don’t worry. This works only for intense sensations. A bump or caress is too weak.”
   I sighed in relief and wrapped myself around him closer, our foreheads bumping into each other, and our sights getting completely filled with each other’s eyes; white, blank, but sparkling and vivid.
   “We have the whole weekend only for ourselves.” I whispered, slowly getting excited.
   “Yes.” Mal0’s voice muttered softly in my head.
   “We can do anything we want… movies to watch, games to play, places to go where no one else does…” I contemplated our options and with each one I counted, the quiet and content humming coming from the beautiful creature embracing me intensified.

   The warmth of our cuddle and the exhaustion from today slowly dawned on me as my head started to slowly spin. Wait, that was just Mal0 laying down on the sofa, not letting go of me. Maybe if I could close my eyes for just a few seconds…