Agelast
Agelast - A person who never laughs.
Laughter, he’s found, is essential to bear living this horrid life after death. Whether its cause be the antics of his fellow coworkers or the ridiculous way a human meet his demise, it makes this personal little pocket of hell the slightest bit brighter.
This is why his superior’s lack of any sort of enthusiasm baffles him. He supposes he doesn’t blame the guy--none of them, he’s sure, are truly happy. They only partake in momentary joy, feigning indifference towards the punishment dealt for their sins. Still, he cant imagine William wishes to be so devoid of pleasure, so he makes it his goal to provide even the smallest amount of amusement for the elder.
He tries his usual tricks, at first; telling jokes, making puns, commenting on the more interesting causes of death written down in his To-Die list, but each is met with a simple adjustment of glasses and an order to return to his paperwork. He bumps his attempts up a notch. He does silly things as he passes William’s office window, from juggling coffee mugs to rolling by in his desk chair and “accidentally” tipping it over. William’s only response is irritation at his apparent incompetence. His third phase of the plan is more desperate, eventually resorting to self-humiliation. Things like dumping cups of hot coffee on himself or tripping on his way into his boss’ office, sending paperwork flying everywhere. It seems these attempts only anger the dark-haired reaper, though, as every time Ronald does something embarrassing, he only shakes his head in disappointment.
After a week or so of his attempts, he is called into William’s office, and he knows that he’s in trouble. Once he’s sat down, the other goes on to tell him that he’d been preforming poorly as of late, or at least more-so than usual (Ronald takes offense at that addition), and he wishes to know what in the hell has gotten into him to make him so useless in the workspace.
Ronald sighs. He’s never gotten anywhere by being dishonest, so he tells the truth. He tells William of his belief that none here are happy if they are not laughing, and of his attempts to amuse the supervisor with his ridiculous antics. William asks why he would attempt such a thing, pointing out that the two of them do not have a personal relationship--why would he care if the other was happy or not? Ronald shrugs in response, stating that he believes that anyone whom had been so miserable as to end their life deserved at least a smidgen of joy after death.
William watches him with narrowed eyes, silence passing over them for a brief moment before he sends the other on his way, informing him of the mountains of make-up paperwork he has waiting at his desk. Still, as the blond stands and turns to leave, he swears he sees the corner of the other’s lips twitch--perhaps, he likes to imagine, the makings of a smile.
