anonymous love letters

Jericho couldn't quote remember when exactly the letters began to roll in. The memory was vague at this point, for the whole incident felt like ages ago. All he remembered was that he went to his locker one day to get his blazer for the host club meeting that we was about to attend. Only for something else that he hadn't remembered he placed in to drift out to the floor. Now, opening his locker to find surprises wasn't a foreign occurrence to him. After all, he remembered that April Fool's day where he opened his locker only to be greeted with a barrage of glitter that he couldn't get out of his feathers for weeks. But it was all in good fun though, not to mention that he thought he totally rocked the look. This scenario was different, however. This letter wasn't apart of some gag, or was from anyone he knew.

It was a love letter. A very sweet, carefully worded love letter.

That first time, Jericho had tried to brush it off. Still believing it was a joke, because even his most loyal customers at his club never so developed an attachment like this one. By the time the third one rolled in... Well, it was clear that this was serious. After rushing to the nearest men's room to seal himself in a stall to gather his flustered mind, Jericho found himself dedicated to a mission. He needed to find this stranger. Even better, he needed to catch them in the act. Whoever it was, they were elusive. But Jericho was a man of persistence. He wasn't going to sleep right until he found out this secret admirer was. No matter what it would take.

So that was why Jericho found himself in the rafters of the hallway like some sort of vulture waiting for its meal. At least, that's the way it seemed. But he wasn't being creepy, right? He was perched in a crouching position with his wings encasing his body while he watched his locker like his life depended on it. Trying his damnedest to keep himself from both falling and being caught. How long had he been here? An hour? Maybe he should just call it quits for the day. Before someone pressed charges or whatever. The hallways were empty now anyway, so if he jumped-

Wait a minute. Someone was approaching his locker.

He was looking at his phone for a brief moment, which is why he was more shocked when they finally showed up. Jericho leaned in. Ever so carefully. His eyes narrowed as he tried to decipher the figure, and what they were holding in their hand. A familiar sheet of paper... The letter. This was it. He waited for the figure to walk off. All the while, he tried to formulate how to approach them without being a total creep. He just... Wanted answers. And to hopefully get to know the writer, to tell them it was okay to be abrupt with his feelings instead of hiding them.

But first, he had to play it cool. He carefully hopped down from the rafters, trying to be light so that the admirer wouldn't turn around. Of course, he stumbled, uttering a disgruntled "shit" before attempting to regain himself. He cleared his throat and straightened himself up. Looking down to see that the figure was almost gone at the the of the hallway.

Wow, he really didn't think this through.

Jericho's mind races for ideas, until he saw something fall from the other's backpack. He squinted again. A pen, it looked like. Perfect. The nephilim took off after him in a fast walk while still attempting to be casual. The path wasn't long until he met the pen, bending down to pick it up. His hand almost nervously clenched it as he tried to gain a composure. He could do this.
"Hey! You!" He called out, holding up the pen. A crooked yet easygoing smile appeared on his face. "You dropped this!"

Mission complete.​

As soon as the figure stopped, Jericho was relieved he finally got their full attention. He stood a good few feet away, but even in this distance the nephilim could piece a bit of their persona together. They were... A lot smaller than him. Their black baggy clothes contradicted Jericho's form-fitting varsity jacket and jeans. It made him wonder what they had to hide...

For now though, he didn't want to stare at them. Already they looked withdrawn, hesitant, and probably worried that they got caught. But it wasn't like their pursuer was upset. No, quite the opposite. He was flattered. Naturally then, he wanted to meet this mystery for who they were. To show them that they had nothing to be afraid of.

Of course, taking it slow would probably be for the best. The poor admirer looked shaken up as it is, so maybe it would be best to play dumb for now. Not like he totally just stalked his own locker for the past hour or anything. As they approached, he smiled. And as their voice let out... Well, it appeared that Jericho too had started to become flustered. Not visibly but... They, or he, certainly sounded like a cutie. "I'm guessing you've heard me around before, huh." Jericho asked with a smile. He'd never seen this guy around before. Or at least, he thought he hadn't. Regardless, he wanted to be polite to him. "No need to thank me though. Can't have you going around pen-less, can I?" A chuckle ran from his throat. Soft, as to not scare the other. He didn't want him to leave... He had so much find out. He quieted his demeanor a bit, his voice gentle.

"Hey... You don't have to be nervous. Promise I don't bite or anything." He carefully handed the pen off to the other. Retrieving his hand slowly to bury it in his pocket, just like the other one was. "I guess you already knowing me makes introductions a little easier, so... Think I could have the pleasure of knowing your name?" He asked, with a mixture of politeness and ease. After all, If he ran off, then who would send him those beautiful letters?​

He couldn't read the admirer's mind. Which honestly pained Jericho in a sense. He was a curious guy, and stuck his nose in things more than he should have. This time though it was certainly his business. The other had seemed to begin to shy from him. A look of concern crossed his face. Was he that intimidating?

No... Jericho might just be the same way if he was in his shoes.
Besides... There was nothing wrong with being shy. He knew the feeling, albeit he knew it many years ago. He wasn't always this outwardly confident. Hearing him apologize for thanking him too much was almost a mirror image of his former self. Jericho hummed a chuckle once more. Not to tease him, but to acknowledge it was all good. He wanted to keep quiet anyway for what he would say next.

Astor... The name rang at least some sort of bell. At least, so he thought. Was he in one of his classes...? Geez. This was kinda bad. "Well, pleased to meet you Astor. Cool name, by the way." On any case, Jericho liked to meet people formally. Even if this guy almost refused to show his face. He certainly was a tough nut to crack, to say the least.

What does he have to hide?

His grey-green eyes then bared witness to the real moment of truth. Much akin to the personality he displayed before, the other slipped up in his nervousness. This time, it was his hoodie. It finally fell when Jericho was concentrating on him the most.

"O-oh..."

The boy wasn't what he had expected. Even as willowy as his voice was, he couldn't have predicted how... Delicate he looked. He was completely different in appearance and persona than Jericho was. His milky complexion offset both his attire and his most striking feature- his eyes. Jericho found himself staring deep into them. Inadvertently, at first, for he was a bit stunned. But after that... He found just by studying his face that there was a quality he couldn't quite place his finger on.. All he could think of was... Soft.

A light splash of pink touched Jericho's nose and cheeks.

Seconds later he tried his best to snap out of it. Nervously running his hand through his penny-colored hair, Jericho looked at the boy that was flustered to the point of discomfort. Shit. He didn't mean for this to happen. As soon as Astor began to backtrack and attempt to leave, Jericho tried his best to at least make him stay, if not for a few more seconds.

"Woah woah hey... Is everything alright?" He interjected, almost tempted to hold his hand out to stop him but ultimately deciding against it. "I mean... Don't let me hold you up from class or anything but..." He tried to think of an excuse. Something on the spot so he could get answers as to why this guy felt the way he did for him. "I was gonna go get coffee at the host club office upstairs... You want a tea or something? It'll help calm your nerves at least." He shrugged, sheepishly smiling as if to try to solidify the deal. "I mean, it's the least I could do for sneaking up to you like that."​

"Right on." Jericho responded, pleased that he agreed. Granted, Astor made it look like the prospect of getting tea was something completely stressful. Hopefully Jericho would change his mind. What the Nephilim hoped more however was that the boy didn't think he was being intimidating. Or creepy. Or both. Still, his smile was pleasant, his demeanor open. He didn't want this admirer to go away. Not when he hasn't even admitted to the actions yet.

Plus, losing a cute guy like this would probably damper the rest of his week.

With his a slight gesture of his head, Jericho gestured to follow him. Taking the lead to guide him to the stairs, where the abandoned floor lay. Well, seemingly abandoned. Thanks to his fellow hosts and the generosity of the school, one room was fixed up to be quite the fancy lounge. He went there a lot when he was bored, or in need of alone time. Granted there were no pretty guests to attend to. "You know... The doors to the host club are pretty much always open a few hours after school. Not trying to biased or anything, but it's a nice place to chill. Granted, you have to have some form of payment..." At that, Jericho looked over his winged shoulder. An almost sly, yet playful smirk on his face. "But I can make an exception or two."

When they arrived, Jericho took the keys from his pocket to unlock the door. He had no classes, so even if he didn't finally capture his admirer he would probably had ended up here. He pushed open the door to reveal the club, drenched in the sunshine of the approaching afternoon through the large French-style windows on the parallel wall. "Here we are!" Jericho stepped aside to let his follower in. It was a rather nice little set up he had. Filled with expensive furniture and classical artwork. How did he afford this? The answer was simple- he didn't.

Despite the means of getting the money to refurbish the room being less than desirable, he was still proud of their club. "Hey Astor... Take a seat wherever you want. I'll be back in a moment." With that, Jericho went behind another door. The sound of something brewing soon came on, and the smell of vanilla coffee soon filled the room. While it was heating up, Jericho once more appeared by the door. Leaning against the frame as he looked to him. "It should only be a few minutes, sooo..." He folded his arms across his chest. A curious look soon came in his eyes, as his head tilted slightly. "What brought you to the academy?"​

Jericho still listened, noticing that the boy way talking more than ever. This wasn't like him, from what Jericho had seen. Still, he couldn't complain. Maybe little Astor was finally peeking a bit out of his shell. The thought made him smile once more. The boy asked if he meant it. Surprisingly, Jericho said nothing outside a silent smile. But he was going to get to that. This was all a part of his plan.

While Astor told him his story, Jericho approached the window nearby the kitchen and his new acquaintance, pushing open the curtains to let more sunshine in. He hoped the boy wasn't weak against it or anything. Not because he was ominously pale with red eyes- er, actually, yes it was. But still. He saw there was a valid reason to believe that some students had different weaknesses. For instance, toss a cross at Jericho and he'd shrivel like a slug that was caught in a salt storm. Some students naturally hated sunlight, so Jericho closed the curtains in his quadrant and turned off the lights. Still, it was still pretty early and the morning light wasn't so strong. It poured in softly, and the cool autumn breeze blew at his grey feathers. He softly relaxed his folded wings, before turning to Astor as what he said particularly struck him.

"You're... The son of the reaper?" Jericho had to repeat, trying to clarify that. At first, he was confused. The little hamster on a wheel in his head was practically running laps to understand that 'bat + skeleton= child???'. Then again, he couldn't say that much himself. Then the next thing: how could this little nugget-of-a-kid reap the souls of humans teetering on the point of the beyond? Maybe... There was a side of him he wasn't seeing. But it was no place of his to ask him of this. Yet.

"That's... Kinda really rad." Jericho smiled, impressed by his lineage. He was so used to this sort of thing now, that not much really scared him anymore. After all, most of the people who graced this place and its hosts were looking for a relaxing time, not a devilishly handsome meal. "I mean, that's an impressive background to come from. I hope things are going well for you here then.... I can imagine it would be a little rough, and I hope I'm not jumping to conclusions." With that, he herd the kettle whistle from the kitchen. Signaling to Astor that he would be back in a second before walking off. He still talked, however. It was one of his favorite things to do after all. "My dad was an angel, pretty obvious I know. He crashed into my mother's back yard one day. Bla bla, broken wing, needed attention.... Grew attached... And a few years later, lo and behold, this little Nephilim came to be." He walked out of the kitchen, expertly balancing a tray in one hand with two mugs, and a container of sugar. "Of course, that was an unholy abomination, so my dad was banished, I was stripped of immortality, and when I die..." His free hand gestured with a thumb to the ground, knowing damn well where his fate lie. He shrugged though. "But... That's why I live it up. Treat each day like it's my last and all that jazz."
He blushed for a second then, before clearing his throat and setting the tray down. Trying to shrug it all off. "Oh. Sorry bout dumping my life story out to you, I'm just used to it. A lotta ladies and gents around here like to hear it anyway." He graciously set down the mug of tea in front of him, his own hand reaching for the coffee. He tried to be silent then, realizing that he probably intimidated the boy by going on and on like he did. He then turned away back to the window. Approaching it once more to at least warm himself up in the harvest sun. His voice got a little more quiet, but still loud enough for him to hear. "But... Yeah. Like I said.. When there's no one here, you can come up if you want. It's quiet on this floor. I guess I owe it to you..." A soft chuckle came from him.

"Still think my personality burns brighter than a thousand suns?"​