Chapter Text
It was one of those rare lazy days—no requests, no pressing duties. A perfect day for Zanka to hone his skills, maybe even try that new stir-fry from his favorite restaurant. He was already heading toward the training room when a knock at his door shattered the illusion of peace.
And just like that, his perfect day was over.
He pulled the door open, finding Riyo on the other side, her signature mischievous smile in place.
“Already dressed, I see.”
Zanka exhaled slowly, keeping his voice calm despite the flicker of irritation creeping in. “How can I help ya’?”
“The team’s heading to town. Wanna come?”
No. He didn’t.
“I’d rather stay, just in case somethin’ shows up.”
Riyo raised a knowing eyebrow, seeing through his excuse like it was written on his forehead. “Your loss,” she shrugged. “Enjin finally decided to be nice and said the meal was on him…”
******************************
They ended up eating in a ramen shop. The food was better than Zanka expected and he would be lying if he said he didn’t have a pleasant time with the others.
Riyo and Tome were animatedly chatting with Eishia, August was in the middle of an elaborate stand up routine making Enjin and Gris laugh a whole lot. And then there were Follo and Rudo.
The brunette was sharing some of his experiences as a supporter with the younger boy, who listened intently, nodding along and asking questions here and there. Rudo was acting like a normal person for once—no frowns, no creepy smiles, nothing but wide eyes full of wonder at whatever Follo was saying.
Zanka clenched his jaw, his grip on his chopsticks tightening. So that’s all it takes? A few words from someone else, and suddenly Rudo could be attentive, polite, even eager to learn?
Back when he first met the brat, Rudo had been nothing but difficult—stubborn, uncooperative, only caring about achieving whatever goal he had in mind. And now, here he was, all buddy-buddy with Follo, hanging onto every word like an eager apprentice.
Snap.
Zanka blinked, looking down at his broken chopsticks.
Damn it.
***********************
After everyone finished their food, they paid and split into smaller groups. Zanka ended up with Riyo and the other girls, wandering around different market stands. They were currently looking at hairpins and accessories when something caught Zanka’s eye.
A mop of white hair darted past at full speed.
He immediately knew who it was.
Curious, he took a step forward to see what all the fuss was about—only for a gloved hand to suddenly grab his wrist. Zanka barely had time to react before he was yanked forward, forced into a full sprint down the street.
“The hell ya’ doin’?!” he barked, looking down at the shorter boy currently dragging him through the crowd. People barely had time to dodge as they sped past.
“Just come with me for a second!” Rudo’s hurried tone made Zanka wonder if this was some kind of emergency.
“Is everyone okay? Weren’t ya’ with Gris and Follo?” he asked, trying to make sense of the situation and come up with a plan.
“They’re fine! Just hurry up!”. Rudo didn’t elaborate on a better answer.
Talking about weird behavior…
If this was not an emergency then why—?
“Here!”.
Rudo skidded to a stop so abruptly that Zanka almost lost his balance. Blinking, the blue-eyed boy looked around and realized they were in front of a dessert stand—a very popular one, judging by the long line of customers.
He frowned. “...What?”
Before he could demand an explanation, Rudo shoved a crumpled flyer into his hands. His expression was almost feral, as if whatever was written there was a matter of life and death.
Zanka glanced down at the paper.
It was an advertisement.
A promo for a limited-edition ice cream, 50% off—if you came with your couple.
Couple.
Zanka blinked. Once. Twice. Thrice.
Then he looked up at the line of customers. Most of them were holding hands, standing way too close, or exchanging flirtatious smiles.
Not. Fucking. Way.
“Rudo…” Zanka’s voice was tight. “Did ya’ actually read the flyer? Ya’ know what they mean by ‘couple,’ right?”
Rudo instantly glared daggers at him, looking downright offended.
“I’m not stupid!! Of course I can tell it means two people!”
Zanka was making an extraordinary effort to keep his cool and not scream.
There was no point in explaining. If the red-eyed menace was this dense, no amount of words would make a difference. Instead, Zanka decided to get to the real issue at hand.
“Why didn’t ya’ ask Gris or… Follo to come with ya’?”.
Rudo tensed. His gaze darted to the side, suddenly very interested in the ground.
“I—I… saw that other candy stand and… lost them…” he muttered. “Then I saw this one and… I was looking for them when I found you.”
“So… ya’ drag the first person ya’ saw”.
“…Yeah.”
Zanka let out a sigh. The line was moving quickly. Before he could even think of an escape plan, they reached the counter.
Rudo slammed the flyer down with zero hesitation.
The employee—a young woman—blinked at it, then at them.
“I’m sorry, this promotion is for couples only,” she said politely.
“We are two!!” Rudo declared, pointing at himself, then at Zanka.
The woman hesitated. “That’s… not what the promo means…”
“How can a couple not mean two people?!”
This was getting out of hand.
People were starting to stare. The poor girl at the counter looked increasingly uncomfortable, and Rudo—being Rudo—didn’t seem to notice. At this rate, he was going to make an even bigger scene, and Zanka did not want to deal with the aftermath. He has to do something and do it now. So he took a deep breath and braced himself for the only solution he could think of.
“Oi, Rudo”.
He placed a hand on the white-haired boy’s shoulder.
Rudo turned toward him, probably ready to yell—or argue, or say something stupid—so Zanka took his chance.
With his free hand, he cradled Rudo’s jaw, and before the brat could react—
He kissed him on the forehead.
Rudo froze. His entire body locked up, not a single sound coming from his mouth.
Taking full advantage of the silence, Zanka turned back to the counter.
“Please forgive my boyfriend over here,” he said smoothly. “It’s been a long day, and he’s already exhausted.”
As he spoke, he let his hands slide from Rudo’s shoulders, trailing down his arms until they reached his elbows. Then, in one fluid motion, he pulled the shorter boy into an embrace.
Rudo didn’t move.
Didn’t push him away.
Didn’t say a single word.
Turning back to the cashier, Zanka gave her his most charming smile.“May we have that couple’s special, please?”.
***********************
The two boys were now sitting on an improvised bench by the main avenue, where most of the stands were set up.
Rudo was almost finished with his ice cream—no surprises there. Meanwhile, Zanka’s own cone remained untouched as he simply watched the white-haired menace inhale his in two bites.
“Here”.
Zanka held out his untouched cone.
Rudo stared at him as if he’d lost his damn mind. “You don’t want it?”
“You were the one who dragged me here for it, remember?” Zanka replied, exasperated.
Rudo hesitated for a second before snatching the cone and devouring it as if there were no tomorrow.
Zanka watched, utterly baffled. How the hell does he eat ice cream that fast without getting a brain freeze?
Once Rudo finished, an awkward silence settled between them.
The shorter boy fidgeted with the hem of his T-shirt, clearly wanting to say something but struggling to find the words.
“If ya’ got somethin’ to say, just say it,” Zanka said, eyeing him.
Rudo stiffened. “Back there… at the stand… we… y-you… you…”
His shoulders were tense, his face mortified. Zanka might have taken pity on him—told him to just forget the whole thing—if not for one little detail.
The brat’s face was glowing red like burning charcoal. Again.
Yes, again.
See, back at the dessert stand, Zanka had taken control of the situation by faking a relationship with the red-eyed sugar addict. After a display like that—kissing his forehead, pulling him into an embrace—there was no way Rudo wouldn’t get the hint.
Which meant there were only two possible outcomes: 1) The brat would play along with the act (highly unlikely), 2) He’d shut up and let Zanka handle getting them out of that mess.
Obviously, it had been the second option.
Rudo hadn’t said a word after the forehead kiss, just stood there, head down, bangs hiding his face. Strange, sure—but Rudo wasn’t exactly normal to begin with.
Then, when the girl at the counter returned with their ice creams, Zanka had finally seen it.
Wide eyes, mouth drawn into a thin line, cheeks as red as a cherry.
The brat was actually blushing.
Zanka had blinked, stunned. Is this… real? Seeing Rudo flustered felt like spotting a unicorn—unexpected, rare, and kind of fascinating.
“Ehem…”
Both boys snapped out of it, turning toward the soft voice.
“I—I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to interrupt, but… the other customers…” The girl behind the counter looked both awkward and apologetic.
Right. The customers.
“It’s okay, it’s our fault,” Zanka said smoothly, forcing a polite smile despite his inner turmoil. Then he turned to Rudo. “C’mon.”
The white-haired boy followed, moving in an almost robotic daze.
And that led them here—to this very moment—where Zanka was now witnessing Rudo’s second blush of the day.
The blue-eyed boy would be lying if he said he didn’t find this amusing, wondering if this is perhaps somehow similar to finding a four-leaf clover and if he must make a wish or something.
Still, the brat looked like he was about to short-circuit, so Zanka decided to put him out of his misery.
“It was nothin’,” he said casually. “A white lie to get ya’ your ice cream. No biggie.”
Rudo relaxed slightly. “…Well… uh… thanks anyway.” His expression was still stiff, but at least he wasn’t crimson anymore.
Silence stretched between them for about ten seconds.
“Let’s go find the others,” Zanka suggested, standing up.
Rudo quickly followed.
They walked for about five minutes before spotting their group. Zanka stuck with the Stilza siblings, barely listening to whatever nonsense August was rambling about.
His attention was elsewhere.
Across the way, Rudo was chatting with Riyo, who eagerly showed him some secondhand trinkets she’d found at an old stand. The red-eyed boy’s expression lit up with excitement.
Zanka was definitely not clenching his jaw.