Jabari waited until Lucifer was sufficiently far away before turning to Jesus. As per usual.
“You know something’s bothering me. Why havent you asked me what it is?”
Jesus considered, tea still moist at a corner of his beard before he spoke. As per usual.
“When people are ready, they come to me. Thats how it works. Also, I dont like to pry. Do you want to talk about what’s bothering you?”
The words hung in the air. Little sound clouds hovering in the scents of busy cafe and early morning. And hung there. And continued to hang there.
It had not been the best week for Jabari. He’d recently taken a job doing things he wasnt fond of and that wasnt very lucrative. The job just wasnt in his heart. And several people had also recently vacated space there and so- He’d been demonstrably down for days. Its not that he was generally a depressed person but he’d been struggling with a few things that just felt so much bigger than he was. After a time, Jesus glanced passed Jabari to see Lucifer still ignoring them from the line at the front of the cafe. Then he leaned forward uncrossing his legs and set his tea on the table- his focus centered on Jabari.
Time.
Stopped.
“I believe in you Jabari. I can see you doing great works in my name. Take comfort in that. Things will work out.”
Time resumed. Motes of dust resumed their listless orbit in the air, the music came back into focus, the world inside the cafe went back to being. Lucifer seemed to be in a heated discussion with a barista, something about the proper temperature of coffee. He had leaned very close to but just outside the personal space of the very visibly shaken young man. The other cafe staff very actively ignored the situation.
In Jabaris world- everything was *more*. Colors were more saturated. The feel of the leather of the chair he was sitting in felt sublime against him, the numbing cold from moments before was brisk and invigorating, and this coffee tasted AMAZING. His smile found his face again. His heart found a stronger rhythm and the pain in him lost ground. The glow was just melting away from the corners of his vision when Lucifer returned, a mug of something that smelled strong and dark and sweet in his hand. Steam poured from the top and he did not use the handle. After using a paper folded neatly in his hand to brush brumbs off the seat he’d chosen he started to sit, he stopped- noticing some unseen communication between his fellow patrons. “What’s this?”
“Nothing.” They replied. In unison. The rehearsed unison of people obviously up to something.
“… -sure.” Lucifer replied. At first it appeared he might be curious but then, that feeling was immediately subdued by hooded neredowells in an alley somewhere. Curiosity abated.
And conversation resumed. They talked about the holiday season and black friday and recipes. Lucifer knew some truly amazing recipes but they always involved ingredients no longer available on Earth. “You had to have been there, it was really something.” Shortly thereafter, An elderly woman with a limp stumbled and struggled at the door. A fierce wind was keeping her from opening it comfortably and the staff was again, blissfully ignorant of the situation. Jesus was on his sandaled feet almost immediately. Jabari glanced up- noticed the wind out of nowhere, the elderly woman- with a cane- stumbling- having trouble with the door- wearing a crucifix -the cover of a bible just peeking out of her bag, and opened his mouth to to warn Jesus of the very obvious setup. Lucifer’s mouth did that thing is does when its thinking about what smiles taste like.
He leaned forward, and put his mug down- focusing solely on Jabari.
Time.
Stopped.
“Listen. I know youve been down these past few days.. Weeks.. Whatever- the point is, I dont want you to worry. I believe in you Jabari. I can see you doing great works in *my* name. Take comfort in that. Things will work out.”
And then he.. “Smiled”.
When Jesus returned, Jabari was sitting back in his seat. The light in his eyes was gone- replaced with all the weight of the world ever. He sighed, and it felt like his soul dimmed a bit. He only numbly stirred his coffee in its mug, but did not sip. If the conditions could have physically supported it, a cloud would have been parked directly over his head. Raining. Liquid Despair. Lucifer, however sat upright at the table taking a deep sip from his mug. He seemed almost chipper. And that sullied the word. Watching him, Jesus thought of cats and canaries and smug.
Jesus sat, folded his feet in his chair beneath him and pulled the tea back up do his lips. He watched Jabari for a full minute, just breathing. He was utterly dejected and his eyes were fighting to hold on to moisture. His lips werent at a frown, but they couldnt find a smile with both hands and a map. Jesus looked from Lucifer, to Jabari, and back to Lucifer.
“Sometimes you are *such* a dick, Lucifer.”