Chapter Text
Tyler Joseph wishes he was normal. He’s not, of course - there are a few major things that make him a whole lot different than others around him.
The biggest elephant in the room, of course, is that he’s, well, dead. His heart doesn’t beat, it doesn’t pump blood anymore, and he certainly doesn’t breathe. Maybe he could if his lungs didn’t decay a few hundred years ago. That’s another thing - he’s different than most spirits, too. Very few remain as “living” ghosts because it’s the reaper’s job to take them to the afterlife after they die.
Tyler had refused the offer, saying he wants to watch his family continue through generations, but soon that got boring - and no reapers returned for him. For the most part, he kept himself calm. He didn’t want to become vengeful, after all, and so he kept the saved up power he has to himself. That power could be used for him to appear more solid, but he finds it more useful to keep himself hidden.
For now, Tyler Joseph - who’s nearly 234 years old at this point - sits in a coffee shop, observing the people around him. It’s interesting watching them go about their day, Tyler thinks, because they have no idea about the entities living among them. Tyler thinks they’d be deeply disturbed if they knew the truth. Tyler tries to keep the people safe - putting any restless spirits to rest (as best as he can, anyway) and making sure the creatures that live in closets stay in said closets.
Tyler doesn’t pay attention to the ringing of the bell by the door, the sound far too familiar. Tyler comes into the shop often. Tyler’s fingers tap at his phone - yes, ghosts can have phones too - and he bites his lip as he tries to concentrate on his game. Of course, he stands in the middle of the walkway (the one leading to the seats), because he finds it amusing to see someone pass through him and then shiver. He does tend to make things colder.
There are footsteps towards him, and although they’re quiet Tyler can hear them. Good hearing. Ghost perk. He smirks and puts his phone in his pocket, waiting for the person to pass through him, only to look up and see a man staring at him expectedly. Tyler glances behind him. Nobody’s there. Tyler’s eyes catch the stranger’s bright yellow hair, a nose ring standing out against his features, and he almost whistles.
“Excuse me.” The man speaks softly, not loud enough for others to hear. Tyler stares, confused. He doesn’t move, his eyebrows furrowed. Can this man see him? The man must have been getting random stares, so he breathes out a harsh breath. “Sorry.” Is all he says before he walks through the spirit in front of him, and yep, he can see Tyler. Tyler wants to ask him why he’s sorry but just stares blankly ahead of him. He’s never had anyone see him before.
Slowly, Tyler turns around, and for a brief second, he makes eye contact with the yellow-haired male. The stranger turns his attention down to the table, taking a sip of his coffee, and Tyler finds himself sitting at the booth within a split second. Maybe he can teleport too. Tyler’s eyes trace the coffee cup in the other male’s hand, tonguing his cheek as he learns the stranger’s name. Josh.
“How can you see me?” Is Tyler’s first question, his eyebrows furrowing. He tells himself to stay calm. He doesn’t want to hurt anyone. Josh shrugs, sipping his coffee. Tyler watches as he presses his phone to his ear, smiling as he pretends to answer a phone call. He’s smart, Tyler can give him that.
“I dunno.” Tyler isn’t satisfied with the answer, his arms twitching. It’s been centuries since he’s been seen by a person - an actual breathing person - and he doesn’t know if he likes it. Josh’s fingers tap at the table, and Tyler itches to find out more.
“That’s not an answer.” Tyler’s obviously annoyed, grunting when all he gets is a playful eye roll. The fact that Josh is joking in this situation doesn’t sit well with him, and he wishes he hadn’t come to the coffee shop today. For a second, Tyler considers getting up, but instead, he taps his foot and waits as Josh takes another sip from his beige coffee cup.
“I’ve always been able to do this,” Josh vaguely gestures to Tyler, chewing on his cheek, “I don’t know how or why.” He hums, and Tyler watches as the male’s eyes trace the lid of his coffee cup. “I can also enter the veil.” Tyler’s eyes widen, he’s never really heard of anyone other than reapers or distraught spirits (plus one exception) entering the veil. He’s only been there once when he was younger - younger in dead years, anyway - and even then he wasn’t able to stay there too long.
The longer you’re in there, the worse the feeling gets. For Tyler, it’s the feeling of water weighing you down and filling your lungs - he did drown, after all - but it’s different for everyone. At one point, he’d met someone who had died in a house fire and described ‘the feeling’ as a non-existent heat. Like it’s burning you alive, but you don’t feel hot and don’t feel any pain. Josh meets his eyes, his smile faltering and then falling as he stares into Tyler’s drowned out (quite literally) brown orbs.
Tyler finds Joshua’s - he can only assume that’s Josh’s full first name - eyes enticing, and if his heart was beating it would probably beat a little faster. He watches Josh shake his head, breathing in a deep breath. “How’d you manage to enter the veil?” Tyler questions, his head tilting. Josh thinks for a moment, his fingers tapping at the back of his phone. It’s still held to his ear.
Tyler’s eyes trail down to where Josh is pulling his arm from under the table, tilting his head to keep his phone in place and tugging up his sleeve. He chews on his lip as Tyler eyes the dark scar on his forearm. Oh. It had obviously been traced over multiple times, reopened. For a moment, Tyler was worried, but Josh just shrugged a bit and pulled his sleeve back over the scarred over skin.
“Blood spell.” He says and he’s quiet as if he regrets doing what he needed to do. Tyler almost wants to comfort him, but he knows physical touch is impossible between living beings and the undead. He could use some of his power if he truly wanted to, but it would have consequences - and to be honest, the “undead” punishments for doing things you aren’t supposed to do sound terrifying.
“Oh.” Is all Tyler says, and something in him yearns to give Josh a million reasons of why it’s not worth it to hurt himself just to see the veil. The veil is dangerous anyway - Tyler has heard rumors of one living ancient human entering and eventually being forgotten. As far as he knows, that’s the only human that has ever entered. Eventually, Tyler guesses, they’d turn into spirits. The veil is like purgatory. Anyone - anything - that enters can’t escape if they’re forgotten, and can’t stop themselves from becoming unstable. It’s how it works. Although Tyler’s never truly seen anyone be forgotten for himself, he can guess it’s pretty harsh. “I’ve got to go,” Tyler whispers. The coffee shop didn’t seem as boring with Josh around, but he doesn’t say that. Instead, as Josh opens his mouth, he leaves as fast as possible.
Somewhere in his long-decayed body, he aches to see Josh again.