"A Respectable Male Adult"

Summary: Ray asks Zack to strip.

Disclaimer: This is the second Chinese "Angels of Death" fic I'm translating from 藍骨頭 (Blue Bones) on baidu tieba, called "正常成年男子". I have received permission to translate and post this.

It was around the afternoon when clouds began to cover the sky. The layer of clouds was so thick—

"It was almost as if I could grab a handful of clouds." Ray made a grabbing motion at the sky with hands so pale as if they've never been exposed to sunlight.

It was a metaphor, but when Zack heard it, he bonked her lightly on the head and laughed, "A midget like you would never be able to grab it!"

"A tall person like you can't grab it either, Zack."

Zack didn't get the insult immediately. But when he did, he let out a frustrated grunt accompanied with a "You think I don't know that!?"

Ray was walking alongside Zack with her hands clasped behind her back, humming a song. She remained expressionless but one could tell she was probably in a good mood.

Yet Zack was the complete opposite.

The humidity was driving him insane. The bandages entangling his body felt particularly heavy as if they were soaked with the moisture in the air and with just one wring would squeeze out actual water.

Perhaps it was due to the weather, Zack appeared even more pugnacious, clicking his tongue the entire the day and swinging his scythe at the innocent plants around.

If only it was me he was slicing up... Ray couldn't help but wonder.

"Whether you wanna rain or not, hurry up and decide already! Goddammit!"

"Would you be less angry if it rains?" After who knew how many times Zack had repeated the same complaint, Ray finally asked, cocking her head sideways.

"Hah? Obviously not! Being soaked wet would piss me off even more!"

"Then let's hurry up and find a shelter before it starts raining."

Ray and Zack were rarely in a haste. After all, their journey had no destination. Their only goal was for one of them to kill the other.

This was perhaps the first time they quickened their pace trying to reach a destination. But even so, rain started pouring before they managed to find a shelter. The downpour slowly ceased when night time rolled around. They always avoided crowded streets and picked secluded alleys throughout their journey. That made it quite hard for the police to trace them, but that also made it difficult for them to find a shelter every night.

Visibility was already reduced by the darkness of the night, and the rain made it even worse. Zack continued to curse the weather while complaining about Ray's slow pace. Despite that, time after time he would look back and make sure Ray wasn't falling behind. After a long walk in the rain, they finally found a bedraggled shack abandoned on a reclusive, rural path.

The shack couldn't be any more deplorable. Every now and then, raindrops would fall through the crack on the window and a crisp breeze would slip through the broken door hinge. Not to mention the constant plopping noise of rain hitting the tin roof was like thunder in their ears. But beggars couldn't be choosers, they had to make do with what they have.

Pushing Ray aside, Zack sat down directly under the cracked window as they started a small fire in the shack. Shivering, Ray reached out towards the fire to gain some warmth as she took off her soaked sweater, spreading it on the ground and hoping to dry it with the fire. Zack wasn't as cold as Ray was, but that didn't stop him from whining about it. Ray didn't expect him to gather around the fire like she did, but taking off his grey jacket shouldn't be too much to ask.

"Zack, why don't you take off your jacket and dry it like I'm doing?"

"Hah?"

Perhaps he didn't hear due to the rain, so Ray repeated in a louder voice, "I said, why don't you take off your—"

Zack interrupted her, "I heard you. No need to yell. Why do I need to take it off when I can just dry it while wearing it?"

"You would get sick wearing wet clothes." Fire flickered in Ray's cerulean eyes, much like a troop of flames dancing across the dusky night sea on beat with the rhythm of the waves. Zack briefly wondered if Danny's obsession with these eyes included this unique combination of colors.

It was the first time Zack saw the beauty in fire. He was so shocked at this revelation that he completely forgot to reply to Ray's question.

After a moment of silence, Ray leaned close to Zack and called out his name.

Zack jumped, then said with a leveled voice, "Fine, whatever you say." He tried his best to act nonchalant, but the blush on his face that reflected in Ray's eyes gave away his true feeling.

Zack took off his jacket and threw it next to Ray's sweater to dry, exposing his bandaged torso. But even so, Ray still felt like it wasn't enough.

"Why don't you take off the bandages, too? They seem uncomfortable all wet like that."

Ray looked him up and down. The bandages weren't clean in the first place. Now they looked even duller after being soaked in the rain. With the added weight of the water, the bandages felt like heavy chains that weight thousands of pounds tying him up. His body felt disgusting and stiff from the cold. It certainly was quite uncomfortable.

"No fucking way! What kind of grown ass man strips naked in front of a brat!?"

Zack was as stubborn as ever. Perhaps he just didn't want Ray to see his burns, despite the fact that Ray already saw it on B2 when she sewed up that injury across his abdomen.

Reluctant to convince Zack further, Ray stood up, patting the dust off of her knees and behind. The rain seemed to have lessened as it was only sprinkling now in comparison to the downpour earlier.

"I'm gonna go ask around and see if anyone's willing to share some food with us. While I'm gone, you should unwrap those bandages and squeeze them dry."

Zack grunted in response, his eyes not leaving Ray as she exited the shack through the cracked door that wouldn't stay closed. He didn't take off the bandages immediately, afraid Ray would return soon, but perhaps it was due to this area being so secluded, Ray was gone for quite some time. Eventually Zack decided to heed her advice and disentangle the bandages from his body. He squeezed out a few puddles of water before wrapping back up his burned body. It still felt uncomfortable, but at least the bandages didn't feel as heavy as they were before.

When Ray returned carrying rolls of bread and a glass bottle of warm milk, it started raining again. She let out a sigh, feeling grateful that she had escaped the downpour.

When she saw the puddles next to Zack, she couldn't help but let a small smile escape, knowing he had followed her advice.

Zack, however, was creeped out by the sudden smile.

"That smile's disgusting."

"Oh? Really?" Ray replied off-handedly, her facial expression quickly returning to her normal, indifferent look as she passed the glass of milk and a few rolls of bread to Zack.

"You're such a bore," Zack added which she ignored.

The two of them sat on different sides of the fire, quietly eating their dinner. Other than the plopping of the rain and the crackling from the fire, there was no other sound between them. Zack felt a little awkward but he didn't know what to say.

The bread was a bit stale. He had to drink some milk to wash down every bite. Only half a bottle of milk remained when Zack realized that he was the only one drinking.

"Ray, where's your milk?"

"They only gave us one bottle."

"Take this, then." Zack offered the milk while carefully avoiding the fire separating them.

Ray shook her head. "You're an adult. You need more calories than I do. So you should drink it."

"A brat like you should need more calories. Unlike me, you still have room to grow." Zack gave the bottle a shake for good measures, but Ray still refused to accept it.

"You already drank half of it." Ray's voice was so monotone Zack had a hard time determining whether she was complaining about it or simply implying he should just finish it since he already drank half of it.

"Then half for me half for you, so just take it," Zack said, more like ordered, with an authoritative voice. But when Ray still shook her head, Zack felt anger rush to his head.

"Why are you so stubborn!? Are you in your rebellious phase or do you just hate milk!? I'm amazed you were even able to grow at all!" Zack rambled on and on like firing cannonballs in an irritated voice. Ray, however, was already used to Zack's inconsistent temperament.

She reassured Zack softly, still refusing to accept the bottle of milk. "I don't hate milk. It's just that there's only one bottle, so I thought you should have it. If we find more later on, then I'll take it."

That's not the issue here! Zack screamed in his head. He just felt guilty for keeping the milk all to himself. That was all. What couldn't Ray understand that?

Giving up on this argument, Zack retracted his arm and simply left the bottle next to him. "Whatever. Go ahead and stay as a midget. Keep being a stubborn little shit!" Zack yelled, losing all hope in persuading her.

Ray didn't understand what Zack meant, but she could see that Zack seemed to be mad at her for not accepting the milk. Feeling like she was an annoyance to Zack, now she was starting to regret her action.

"Fine, I'll drink it then." Ray held out a hand, gesturing for Zack to pass her the milk. Still holding a grudge, Zack ignored her, huffing and taking a big angry bite out of the bread. Ray could only get the milk herself. She just couldn't understand why he was so mad. Zack also couldn't understand why she gave in after refusing so many times. So after being rejected three times, he turned away, forcing himself to avoid looking at her. But when Ray neared him, he couldn't help but sneak a peek, just in time to see her put her lips on the same side of the rim as he had and gulp down the remaining milk.

"Y-You… You idiot! T-That's disgusting! And unsanitary!"

Zack couldn't even talk right when he panicked.

Ray was calm as always as she wiped the milk stain from her lips with her sleeves, asking, "What's wrong?"

"I-I've touched the rim with my lips! How can you not be disgusted by that!? It's gross!" Zack yelled as he pointed at Ray.

"But it's hard to drink if I don't put my lips against it. And we don't have any other container to drink from," Ray replied flatly with an empty bottle in hand. She had already drank the milk. No matter how much Zack tried, what had been done couldn't be changed.

Zack was so mad he couldn't get a single word out. This level of angers couldn't be suppressed by simply swinging the scythe around and murdering a few people.

Ray had no idea what was going on with Zack today. He was pissed when it wasn't raining, and he got even more pissed when it started raining. Same with the milk. He was pissed when she refused to drink the milk, and he got even more pissed when she drank it. It seemed like no matter what she did, Zack would continue to be pissed off. Ray could only refrain from doing anything.

However, even if she did something, Zack would ignore her anyway. Seeing how she was finished with the milk, Zack grunted and went straight to sleep with his back facing Ray, not wanting her to see his face.

Ray tried telling him good night but was ignored. She could only quietly clean up after herself and go to sleep, with her back towards Zack.

Instead of feeling disgusted, Zack was more embarrassed than anything. Seeing Ray touch the rim where his lips had touched made him uncomfortable.

With his back towards the fire, Zack felt heat rise to his cheeks. Tonight, there was no moon, no rain, only the crackling fire and Ray's soft breathing resonated in the shack. Zack wondered what exactly was in the bread, or the milk, that caused him to be so restless tonight.

Fin.

AN: The author was really happy to see the comments from "Unethical"! Please leave a comment if you like this and I'll translate the comments so the original author can understand and be happy that someone on the other side of the world is liking their story xD