Chapter Text
It was a small idyllic sort of place, this little town you had recently moved to. It was a safe haven from your past, a new place to start over. It was the kind of place you heard about but never could imagine. It really seemed like everyone knew everyone and gossip was the town people’s favorite pastime.
You slowly cleaned the coffee cups and plates that returned as each customer finished their drinks and pastries. This small cafe on the corner of the main road in town was a nice find for you. The new job was easy to learn and your coworkers and customers were very helpful in welcoming you to the community. Sometimes you would wonder if this was a dream, afraid you would wake up in your old life.
Your shy and calm nature endeared you to many of the regulars. Old farmers would greet you with a smile as they gathered in the corner to talk about the weather or crops. The local gossips would fill you in on all the juicy goings on of the town, free of charge, as they ordered their usual drinks.
Yes, this place was idyllic, yet you felt like you were standing on the outside. A mere observer to everyone around. Not quite belonging to this beautiful town. Not quite fitting in with the long time residents.
This was what you were contemplating as you walked home after your morning shift. Your mind was lost to your thoughts. So when you came back to your senses you didn’t recognize your surroundings. The town may not have been very large, but you hadn’t been here long enough to explore every part of it yet.
Along this road were what appeared to be a few shops. Deciding you had time to take a look around before finding your way back to your normal route you wandered down the street. You passed a couple clothing stores, a small bakery, a trinket shop, and some sort of community center. It was the last building on the corner that really caught your eye though.
A little bell jingled as you stepped through the door. The smell of leather, paper and a hint of vanilla overwhelmed your senses. The well lit and cozy space brought a smile to your face. You had just found the cutest bookstore in existence.
“Welcome,” a friendly and smooth voice called out. “Can I help you find something?” Turning toward the voice you found a young man sitting behind a small counter, a book laying open in front of him. His blue-grey eyes sparkling with joy as if having you come in was the best thing that happened to him that day.
“I’m not looking for anything in particular, thank you.”
His smile was almost mischievous at your reply. “Well, I’ll be here if you have any questions.” Seemingly losing interest in your presence his silver mop of hair covered his eyes as he looked back down at his book.
Venturing into the aisles of the store you took in the tomes housed on the shelves. Any genre you could think of was represented by piles of books. You were ecstatic to find such a treasure trove in this town. Reading was a passion for you, a way to escape from the world around you. And now you found the perfect place to feed that hobby.
After selecting a few interesting looking books you returned to the smiling silver haired man at the counter. “These are some good choices,” he happily exclaimed as he looked over the books. “Will you be buying or borrowing?”
Taken aback by his question, your face scrunched up in confusion. “I didn’t know borrowing was an option.”
The man chuckled at your reply. “You must be quite new around here. Since the city doesn’t have a library I decided to allow people to borrow books for reading, for a small fee of course. You could also pay a certain amount each month to borrow as many books as you like, although there are limits to how many you can have at a time. If you decide you want to purchase the book after I take that fee off the cost of the book.”
You couldn’t help the impressed look that crossed your face as he explained the system. “That sounds amazing. What an excellent idea to help let people experience books without having to worry about amassing a large collection.”
Another chuckle from the man. “Well I do enjoy providing knowledge and entertainment to my fellow residents. I’d give them for free if I didn’t have bills I needed to keep up with. So, buy or borrow?”
“I’d like to buy these. They are some of my favorite books and I want to replace the copies that I unfortunately don’t have anymore.”
He smiled and nodded as he started ringing up each book. “Can do.” He gave you the total price and placed the books in a small bag. After accepting your payment he handed over your new books. “Enjoy. And if you are ever looking for something specific don’t hesitate to ask. I can usually find any book you could ever want.”
You nodded ecstatically as you collected your new books from him. “Thank you, I’ll definitely keep that in mind,” you exclaimed as you made your way toward the entrance. Waving back at the young man you stepped out the door catching his little wave back.
Suddenly your day had grown unimaginably bright as you meandered back down the street. You never thought you’d find such a place in this perfect little town.
The familiar ring of the bell jingling as he stepped through the door of his favorite place always made Satan smile. A little piece of paradise tucked away on a quiet corner. Satan could come here to escape the chaos of his brothers and ignore the world at large.
“Hello Satan,” the smooth voice of his friend called.
Satan turned toward the voice with a smile. “Good afternoon Solomon.” He wandered over to the counter setting the stack of books he had been carrying down as he arrived.
“Did you enjoy your reads,” Solomon asked as he started punching away at his computer to mark Satan’s books returned.
“Of course,” Satan replied nonchalantly. “Anything new this week?”
“There are two new romances, a cookbook, an autobiography, a thriller, and two murder mysteries.”
Satan’s eyes lit up at the last books mentioned. Solomon was smirking so Satan guessed he purposely put those last. “Are they good murder mysteries?”
“I’m not sure. My usual customer who jumps at the chance to read any mystery hasn’t had a chance to give me a detailed review yet,” Solomon said as he smirked at his friend.
The blonde rolled his eyes back. “And what would you do without me then?”
“Probably tell all of my customers to read for themselves and find out,” Solomon shrugged.
Satan chuckled at his friend's response. “Are those two books stocked yet,” he asked, glancing toward the mystery section.
“Yeah, I put them away this morning,” Solomon said as he leaned his head against his hand.
Satan turned back to his friend. His eyes shifted between Solomon and the stack of books sitting on the counter. “Want me to put those away for you? I remember exactly where they go.”
Another smirk landed on Solomon’s face. “Sure. I trust you. But don’t expect any discounts.”
Satan chuckled. “I never do.” With that he picked up the stack again and headed to the aisles. He was comfortable here, it was a little piece of heaven. He knew every shelf by heart, probably better than even Solomon. The quietness brought a calmness to his heart that he wished he could always find.
Satan quickly returned every book to its proper place. Once his hands were empty he moved to the mystery section in search of the new books. They were easy to spot as he stepped up to the shelf. He knew every book here, knew when some were missing, so finding the new ones was a breeze. He glanced over the preview of each book as he pulled it out. Both were intriguing enough. He was familiar with one of the authors so he knew at least one book was bound to be good.
Knowing he’d probably read the books multiple times he decided to settle with just these two for now. He returned to the counter where his white haired friend still leaned on his hand. “You know, one of these days I’m going to rearrange the shelves just to throw you off,” Solomon said lazily as Satan set down his books.
“What with magic? You're too lazy to actually do it by hand,” the blonde snarked.
A mischievous glint crossed Solomon’s eye then. “It might be worth the effort to see you running around looking for your favorite books.”
Satan clicked his tongue. “You need a hobby Solomon.”
“I have a few, though my favorite is cooking,” he replied as he tapped away at his computer again.
Satan visibly shivered at his comment. “Whatever you want to call it,” he mumbled.
“Hm? What was that,” Solomon asked as he finished marking the books as borrowed.
“Nothing.” Satan picked up the books and started walking toward the door. “Thanks for the new reads. I’ll see you in a few days.” He waved at his friend before grabbing the door handle.
“Enjoy,” Solomon replied with a little wave of his own.
Satan enjoyed hearing the little jingle of the shop bell as he exited the store. He was excited to get home to start on one of these mysteries. The only question was, which one?