Fio nodded a little bit. "Ah. I never got the chance to go to New York, but I've heard it's an amazing place." he replied as he looked at Akira, raising his eyebrows a little at the other's staring, but not saying anything about it.
“It’s… loud. I don’t necessarily like it there,” he admitted.
He let the awkward silence soak in for a moment, still studying Fio’s features. He wasn’t bad looking, certainly not, and held a sort of warmth about him.
Akira had to sort of squint to see him now as his body grew more and less translucent. Almost like a flicker between worlds. He had to resist the urge to smile, noting how cool it was.
Fio nodded a little bit, shifting slightly. "So this is your home now." He said slowly, looking around the room that had, 100 years ago, been his bedroom. And now it wasn't. He looked at Akira.
“Yes,” he said affirmatively, following Fio’s gaze. Though once the words sunk in, he backtracked.
“Wait— no. I mean, if this is your house, then I’ll just tell Iris I need to find a new apartment. Or I’ll just sleep on the couch and not bug you.”
He looked back up to Fio apologetically.
Fio raised his eyebrows. "I'm not… I'm a ghost, Akira. I have no more of a claim on these rooms than the wind. You have paid for them; they are yours. They have not been mine in decades, in any case." He replied with a shrug.
“Oh— ok,” he said quietly.
With an awkward glance, he turned around, picking up his items.
“I’ll, uh, leave you to it, then? It was nice meeting you?” Akira mumbled, although it sounded much like a question.
Fio blinked. "No, it's your home. I should leave you to settle in." He started growing more and more transparent, harder to see and hardly even there.
“Is this… just something you can do?” Akira asked, gesturing to the man. “Like, fade in and out? Or is it involuntary? S-sorry for all the questions.”
He pulled a broken piece from the record player, slipping it into one of his pockets so it wouldn’t fall as he carried it.
Fio paused, far more translucent than he had been. "Oh. Sometimes I can control it, other times I cannot." he replied, looking at Akira carefully.
“Interesting…,” he mumbled, resisting the urge to poke the man again. “Can you talk to other spirits? Or can you talk to other humans?”
He cocked his head expectantly, eyes wandering over Fio.
Fio shrugged slightly. "I have not really tried to talk to other spirits; I haven't seen any. And I could talk to most humans if I wanted to, but I don't usually try."
“I see…,” he said quietly. He was about to ask more, but figured he should pace himself. He didn’t want to unload his entire book of questions just yet. They mostly included things like, ‘where do you go when you die,’ and ‘what is it like to fly or float or whatever.’
He gave a nod back to Fio. “Well, I won’t bother you any longer. It was nice meeting you, Fio. Will I be seeing you… around? It seems likely, considering you kind of live here.”
Fio nodded a little. "You likely will, though I will try to stay out of your way. Sometimes I cannot help when or if I appear, though." he replied, starting to grow more translucent again.
“It— it’s ok. I won’t be bothered,” he said. “But thank you. I’ll… I’ll see you later.”
With a sort of immature retreat, Akira stepped out of the room, put his things down, and sat on the couch slowly, head in his hands. He took a deep breath, desperately trying to calm his heart beat.
I met a ghost, was the only thing running through his mind. I met a real, live— well, not live— ghost.
Fio vanished, leaving the room empty again. Well, empty save for the sunbeams dancing through the windows, empty except for the furniture.
(Think I’m gonna timeskip a lil)
That night, Akira was too exhausted to go get food, so he just curled up on the couch with a blanket and a few broken granola bars he had bought from the airport. They weren’t good, but would sustain him until the morning where he could then actually go out and buy groceries.
He picked up the remote, looking to the TV with a cocked head as he tried to figure out what to watch.
Carefully he peeked up over the couch, looking to see if Fio was there. Upon the coast being clear, Akira started sifting through extremely cheesy romance movies. He’d never admit he liked them to anyone aloud, but he seemed to be alone at the moment. So why not?
(alright!)
Fio was indeed not really there, and remained gone until halfway through the movie, when he appeared quietly in the kitchen, blinking in confusion. He had not meant to appear, but appear he had, and now he wasn't quite sure what to do about it. He didn't say anything, not wanting to disturb Akira.
Meanwhile, Akira was close to crying on the couch. He had seen this movie twice already, but it still got his heart every time. He was a total softie, but never wanted to admit it. Guess he didn’t have a choice when Fio appeared, but Akira was too occupied with the movie to even notice.
Fio blinked, cocking his head as he came over. His steps were silent, since his feet didn't really touch the ground. He watched the movie through slightly narrowed eyes, trying to make sense of waht was going on.
Out of the corner of his eye, Akira spotted Fio and nearly fell off the couch. He jumped out of his skin, letting out a small involuntary yip. He immediately paused the movie and wiped his eyes, unfurling from the blanket.
“Uh, hello,” he said, sounding extremely nervous.
Fio looked at him. "Hello." he greeted slowly. "I'm sorry for interrupting you, I did not choose to appear." he managed a faint smile, eyes flickering from Akira to the TV. He knew what a TV was, he had seen the technology change from radios to tube TV's and now these flatscreen things, along with cell phones and tablets and god knows what else.
“It’s totally fine,” Akira replied, clearing his throat and regaining his composure. He leaned back, closing out the movie on the TV and glancing back up to Fio.
“I wasn’t doing anything really important,” he mumbled, cheeks flushing red as he thought of the movie, and how much the ghost could have seen.
Fio nodded a little bit. "What movie is this?" he asked curiously, leaning his elbows on the couch and looking down at Akira.
Akira gave a tight laugh, looking from the television back to Fio sheepishly.
“Would you believe me if I told you it was Mission Impossible?” he asked jokingly, shrugging slightly and pulling the blanket off to the side. He untucked his knees from the couch, sitting up instead.
Fio cocked his head. "I…do not believe it is." he replied slowly, looking at Akira and seeming mildly confused.
The boy gave a small sigh, tapping his leg with the remote.
“It was, ah, Love Simon?” he said timidly, glancing around the room. “Not sure you’ve heard of it… but I like it.”
It was clear the words were hard to get out for him, but this was a ghost… so it didn’t really matter. He was still trying to figure out if Fio was even real or not.
(I’ve never made irl references in rp’s before but I’m rolling with it lol)
(lol)
Fio thought for a moment, then shrugged. "I do not think I have, but I am not well versed in your modern movies." he replied with another little shrug.
“What kind of movies do you like?” he asked, seeming to be getting slightly more comfortable. The scare had worn off, and the nervousness was going right alongside it. “I mean, we could watch it, if you want?”
He blinked at Akira. "I do not…watch movies, really." he replied. "They were not widespread when I died, and I have not…well." he shrugged.
“Makes sense,” he mumbled. “What… time are you from? If you don’t mind me asking, of course.”
Akira had so many questions, but figured one at a time would be least overwhelming.